Friend of husband cannot be booked for cruelty under Section 498A IPC: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court at Nagpur has recently held that a friend of the husband cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cruelty to wife since he does not fall within the statutory definition of a ‘relative.’.“A friend cannot be said to be a relative as he is neither a blood relative nor he was having any relation through marriage or adoption. Therefore, considering above facts and upon plain reading of Section 498A of the IPC, we come to the conclusion that a friend of husband will not fall under the definition of ‘relative’ of the husband as contemplated under Section 498A of the IPC,” a division bench of Justices Anil Pansare and MM Nerlikar observed..The case arose from a first information report filed by a woman in 2022 alleging that her husband, his parents, and his friend subjected her to cruelty. The complainant-wife specifically accused the friend of repeatedly visiting the matrimonial home and instigating the husband to demand a plot of land and a car from the wife’s father. It was further alleged that he encouraged the husband not to cohabit with his wife and to send her back to her parental home if the demands were not met..While the prosecution urged the Court to adopt a broad interpretation of ‘relative’ to include any person who harasses the wife, the Court relied on a Supreme Court ruling that even a girlfriend or a woman with whom a man has a romantic or sexual relationship outside of marriage could not be considered a relative under Section 498A.Applying the same reasoning, the Court held that a friend does not acquire the status of a relative as envisaged in the provision. Hence, the proceedings against the friend were quashed. The case against the husband and his parents will continue, the Court said..Advocate SA Mohta appeared for the husband, friend,and other accused. Additional Public Prosecutor SS Jachak appeared for the State.Advocate S Patrikar appeared for the wife.