NEW DELHI: Can asking a woman to wash clothes and utensils at a relative’s house amount to cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)? The Bombay high court has held that such an act, even if the allegation is assumed to be true, does not by itself constitute cruelty under the provision. The court also quashed a criminal case against six relatives of the husband, finding that the allegations against them were vague and did not specify their individual roles.In an October 1, 2026, order, the high court said the allegations did not disclose enough grounds to continue the proceedings against the six relatives under Section 498A of the IPC.
What were the allegations against the husband’s relatives?
According to the court order, the woman alleged that her husband and his relatives taunted her for being unable to conceive a child and subjected her to mental and physical harassment. She also alleged that her husband had taken her to a relative’s house, where she was asked to wash clothes and utensils.The six relatives approached the high court seeking to quash the FIR and the criminal proceedings against them. They also argued that the allegations were vague and did not specify the role played by each of them. They further claimed that they lived in different places, while the woman resided with her husband in Pune.
Can relatives be prosecuted for cruelty based on general allegations?
Justice Abhay Mantri found that the allegations did not specify the time, date, place or manner of the alleged harassment. The court also noted that the woman’s in-laws lived in different cities and that she visited their homes only occasionally.“The allegations against the Petitioners are vague, omnibus and general in nature,” Justice Mantri observed.The court specifically examined the allegation that the woman had been asked to wash clothes and utensils at a relative’s house. It held that even if she had been asked to do these household chores, the act did not constitute cruelty within the meaning of Section 498A of the IPC.“Apart from that, even assuming that she was asked to wash clothes and utensils, such an act does not constitute the ingredients of Section 498-A of the IPC and cannot be termed as cruelty within the meaning of Section 498-A of the IPC,” the high court said.The court also pointed out that the complaint lacked details about the alleged harassment.“Moreover, Respondent No. 2 has not mentioned the time, date, place or manner in which the alleged harassment occurred. Thus, the FIR and the entire charge-sheet fail to disclose the commission of an offence punishable under Section 498-A of the IPC against the present Petitioners,” it added.The court referred to Supreme Court rulings, including Kahkashan Kausar v State of Bihar (2022), which emphasise the need to carefully scrutinise allegations against a husband’s relatives, particularly when they live separately and are accused through general allegations of harassment.
Does living separately protect a husband’s relatives from prosecution?
Not automatically. The court’s decision turned on the nature of the allegations and the absence of specific details about the relatives’ alleged conduct. Their separate residence and infrequent contact with the woman were relevant to the court’s assessment of the case.The high court observed that the FIR and charge sheet did not disclose the commission of an offence under Section 498A of the IPC against the six relatives. Continuing the proceedings against them, the court said, would amount to an abuse of the process of law.
Final order
The court quashed the FIR registered at Vijapur Naka police station in Solapur under Sections 498A, 323, 504 and 506 read with Section 34 of the IPC, along with the related criminal case, but only insofar as it concerned the six petitioners.The order did not quash the proceedings against the woman’s husband. The court allowed the petition to that extent and passed no order on costs.