Dowry Harrassment Case, How Judge Crack Fake cruelty Case

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Wait.

[00:00:01]Employment, yes, yes, yes.

[00:00:03]I'm not My entire endeavor will be to show to your Lordships that the case is squarely covered under ground seven of Bhajan Lal.

[00:00:11]Which is where proceedings are instituted with a view to wreck vengeance and personal grudges.

[00:00:17]I'm not My case is not that the wife has instituted this and this entire case is a case of over implication. Because if I say if it is an over implication, that means the husband has been rightly implicated while the other four have been wrongly implicated. My case before your Lordships is going to be that it's a case of exaggerated versions of petty quarrels in so far as the husband is concerned and the others in any way unwarranted implication. There's an interim order, right? There's an interim order.

[00:00:44]>> Yes, yes. Mhm.

[00:00:45]Even against the husband.

[00:00:47]I'm not even against the husband. But there's some detailed research that we have done which we want to place before your Lordships. Mhm. You do bring some solution to the larger menace of the false dowry harassment claims. Mhm. But before that, since I've brought my case under the ground seven, before I take your Lordships to the ingredients and the allegations in the complaint, Mhm. I want to point out how the test of review, the standard of review and the scope of review at the crime stage Mhm.

[00:01:10]has changed from Bhajan Lal to Achin Gupta. Mhm. But the test in Bhajan Lal was take all the ingredients on the face of it, believe it to be true and yet if the allegations do not make out an offense, Mhm. then only quash. Mhm.

[00:01:22]>> I'm not seeing the statistics on the abuse under the matrimonial laws under 498A and the line of judgments which have pointed out how marriage laws 498A have been abused. Achin Gupta now takes a full turn where it says citing ground seven, even if allegations disclose ingredients, which in my case it does not, even if it does, still the court will have to exercise a greater standard of scrutiny and ask for corroborative evidence even at the crime stage.

[00:01:50]I'm not before I take your Lordships to the allegations, it's very important to note the difference in the scope of review. Bhajan Lal, take it as it is, take it to be true, but under Achin Gupta now it is not enough for your Lordships to take a hands-off approach minute the allegations are there in the complaint. Because allegations, what the courts have said, Justice Pardiwala has said, many a times lawyers design, lawyers define allegations in such a way so as to suit the ingredients. So looking at statistics now the courts are saying, do not simply take a hands-off approach, ask more probing questions, look for corroborative evidence. And when your Lordships were to look at the allegations in this complaint, not a single speck >> No, Justice T.

[00:02:26]Justice T. A.

[00:02:27]Not a single speck of credible condemn evidence that is attached along with the complaint. Now there are five or six preliminary points that I want to make. Mhm.

[00:02:36]>> Just please note two dates. The marriage takes place on 3/5/2023.

[00:02:42]Mhm. Your Lordships will only note this date. Not marriage takes place on 3/5/2023.

[00:02:47]Mhm. The part The husband and wife have resided together in a shared cohabitation only for four months. Mhm.

[00:02:55]Complaint is lodged in February of 2025 by the wife. Mhm. There is a 16-month delay Mhm.

[00:03:03]>> in filing the complaint before the police. Mhm.

[00:03:07]No preliminary inquiry initiated. Mhm.

[00:03:09]Straightaway the police go ahead and register an FIR. Mhm.

[00:03:13]I'm not It's very important to note because there are the four other Mhm.

[00:03:16]accused as well. Yes, yes. Mhm.

[00:03:18]>> The husband and wife at no point of time have resided together with the in-laws or with the aunt and uncle. Mhm.

[00:03:25]>> At no point of time, both are doctors, highly educated. The wife is a PG graduate in radiology, husband is a MCH in urology. Mhm.

[00:03:33]>> I'm not at no point did they stay along with the parents of the husband or the in-laws of the wife. Mhm. Seven-page, 26-para lawyer-drafted complaint Mhm. suitably designed to bring allegations within the ingredients of the offense. Mhm.

[00:03:47]And if your Lordships were only to see para 26 of the complaint, I'm not Mhm.

[00:03:50]Your Lordships will find at page 33 of the petition. Mhm. I'm not This symbolizes Mhm.

[00:03:59]>> omnibus and generic allegations which your Lordships will find >> you forget. Now concentrate on the husband.

[00:04:05]>> I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I >> Mhm. Squarely I'm not is omnibus, generic because it says, and this runs writ large through the entire complaint.

[00:04:16]Physical abuse, mental abuse, violence is attributed against the husband, the mother, the brother, the uncle and all family members while before that in no paragraph you find any allegations against any of them.

[00:04:29]Now let's come straight to the husband.

[00:04:31]Now there I have I have seen there are if I take all the allegations against me, they can be brought under five or six heads. One is emotional abuse, physical abuse.

[00:04:42]Then there are dowry claims which have been made saying two crore in cash was demanded.

[00:04:48]Mhm.

[00:04:48]>> Property was demanded in Hyderabad.

[00:04:50]I'm not 1.5 kg of gold. Point number one which your Lordships will note, they have pleaded in their complaint that the father of the wife has met the demand to the extent of 1.25 lakh in cash. Just please note this.

[00:05:04]>> Mhm. The father has said of the wife that he has given in fact 1.25 in cash.

[00:05:11]I'm not The other allegations is that the husband takes drugs, he's an alcoholic, he's had extramarital affair because of which they separated. Now four months into the marriage marriage fails because he's having some extramarital affair is their allegation.

[00:05:23]Assuming to be true, it took you 16 months as a doctor, no medical certificate produced.

[00:05:30]I'm not There are allegations that there were bruises on the lips. Now please come to that allegation. This is the only physical the physical abuse allegation which is supported with evidence. Mhm. Your Lordships will come to their statement of objections.

[00:05:43]>> Mhm. I'm not They've produced the pictures to show that this is physical abuse. Mhm.

[00:05:50]I'm not Your Lordships will have to decide whether this is physical abuse.

[00:05:53]No, no. Why will I decide? Yes. Yes.

[00:05:57]Your Lordships will only come to page 13 of their statement of objections.

[00:06:05]No, others I will straightaway quash. I will not listen to them. But as far as the husband is concerned, all this Yes.

[00:06:11]Then then I'm not Let me just show your Lordships what the allegations are then your Lordships may decide.

[00:06:16]Please come to page 31. Of the objections?

[00:06:18]>> Yes, of the objections. Mhm.

[00:06:25]31.

[00:06:26]Huh? You know This is the physical abuse. 14/5/2023, bruise on my lips.

[00:06:32]Mhm. I'm not Proceedings are being live-streamed. I don't want to say this is at the honeymoon in Bali. All right.

[00:06:38]>> This is the only evidence which is corroborative to show that there was physical abuse during honeymoon in Bali.

[00:06:44]These are the two pictures that have been produced. Now please come to 33.

[00:06:48]33. Page 33. That's why it took 16 months to complain. It took 16 months.

[00:06:53]>> Mhm. I'm not Please see this.

[00:06:55]If you are abused, if you there is cruelty, logically any rational person will first immediately want to separate, file divorce claim, separate out. That that rational now you can't draw.

[00:07:07]Husband uh difficult.

[00:07:09]Others straightaway. Whatever they may argue.

[00:07:11]>> I'm not Let me say this. In Achin Gupta In Achin Gupta, let me say I'm not Your Lordships have generally taken a view that husband must not receive the immunity which others receive. But in Achin Gupta, I only want to tell your Lordships that >> Abhishek. Yes, I'll tell you what happened. The entire reasoning was this.

[00:07:26]Please see the reasoning. Appreciate the reasoning. In the FIR it was the husband and relatives. In the charge sheet, they dropped the relatives, only husband remains. Correct. I challenge this. High Court does not quash. Correct. And it is in that context that Justice Pardiwala came down very heavily saying if there were two allegations, Yes.

[00:07:41]>> if you have to take the FIR blindly, then why did the police drop the other four in the charge sheet?

[00:07:46]And they quashed it against the husband.

[00:07:48]Correct. They will have to conduct a merit-based review even if it is on No, see there is no material today except the complaint that is filed of the prosecution before me. You say it is stayed immediately.

[00:07:59]>> Yes. So My question is what is the evidence that the police can recover?

[00:08:02]No, can recover we don't know. I can't telescope my imagination there. Now the members of the family, yes, I'm going to quash. I'll have subject to what you would say. That's mean the husband, Yes. Come up Come after filing of charge sheet. If charge sheet is filed.

[00:08:20]>> Then I'm not If your Lordships are going to direct investigation against the husband, my submission is going to be this.

[00:08:27]Since they have made a claim, there are two two acts which have not been noticed by this court, which is the dowry prohibition act under section 8B and the rules that are framed there under. Four authorities also have produced. Mhm.

[00:08:38]Please come to Neera Singh, which is a judgment of the >> Allahabad High Court. Delhi High Court.

[00:08:43]>> Delhi High Court. Rita Singh is Allahabad High Court. Please come to Neera Singh at page 69. Mhm.

[00:08:50]Wild allegations of three crores, five crores are made very regularly.

[00:08:55]Please see what the Delhi High Court has said. Para three. Permit me to read para three and para four. Mhm.

[00:09:03]A perusal Mhm. Page 69. Page 69. Mhm.

[00:09:07]I'm there. A perusal of the complaint would show that as per allegations dowry demand was made even before marriage and an AC was demanded from her father and her in-laws and her father had assured that AC would be given at the time of marriage. I wish she told her father, you have given car and AC at the demand, what will happen if the demand of flat tomorrow? Despite her this conversation with the father and despite her knowing that dowry demand had already been made, she married in the same family irrespective of the fact that she was well educated and was an engineer and her brother was in police. In fact, these kind of allegations made after breakdown show the mentality. I consider where these kinds of allegations are made, the police should simultaneously register a case under the dowry prohibition act against the parents of the complainant as well who married their daughter despite demand of dowry.

[00:09:46]Section three of the act prohibits giving and taking of dowry. If a woman of grown-up age and well educated gets married to a person despite dowry demand, she and her family becomes accomplice in the crime under the dowry prohibition act. Now, please come to para five.

[00:10:02]Metropolitan magistrate should take cognizance of the offense under the act in respect of the offense of giving dowry whenever allegations are made that dowry was given as a consideration of marriage after demand. Court should also insist upon compliance with the rules framed under the act and if the rules are not complied with then an adverse inference should be drawn. If huge cash amounts are alleged to be given at the time of marriage which are not accounted anywhere, such cash transaction should be brought to the notice of the income tax department by the court so that source of income is verified and the person is brought to law. It's only because the courts are not insisting upon compliance with the relevant provisions of law while entertaining such complaints and action is taken merely on the statement of the complaint without any verification that a large number of false complaints are pouring in. Therefore, this is what the Delhi High Court has said. If you are going to make allegation that you have given two crore and you have met that demand.

[00:10:52]Now, even under the Prevention of Corruption Act So, giving corruption act giving and taking definitely. No, no.

[00:10:58]Even under the No, please see. PC PC Act definitely giving and taking both are punishable. I have myself written.

[00:11:04]That doesn't You can't paraphrase that to dowry in the Indian I'm not paraphrasing this section itself says this section itself says please just see section three of the act.

[00:11:13]>> No. No.

[00:11:15]>> [clears throat] >> Look, I'm only saying this. I'm only saying this the law the section three itself penalizes the giving. Correct.

[00:11:36]>> Yes. Now, I just want to show your lordship that That is why section three and four is always alleged in any complaint. Yes. But, it is an offshoot of whatever we do. Then in all the cases we'll have to uphold the dowry prohibition act and set aside the others.

[00:11:51]No, no. In fact, I just want to show your lordship the Allahabad High Court judgment itself which also examines the entire provisions of the act. The dowry prohibition and the rules framed thereunder. No, but this Allahabad I've seen.

[00:12:02]You have next Vinod Justice Vinod Chand. Yes, yes. Ankit Singh. Just come to the guidelines, I just want to show your lordship what the guidelines are. There is a dowry prohibition officer constituted under the dowry prohibition act. Nobody will complain in that.

[00:12:17]Nobody will complain. They They want their daughters to be married. They will complain. But, instead of complaining to the police, what the law requires is They don't complain They don't don't complain to the police immediately. They complain to the police when the relationship turns sour. I am saying >> mean relationship turning sour. I had given dowry two years back and they go to the dowry prohibition officer officer and complain. No. No, at the end of the day this allegation is still claim and meeting of dowry claims. I'm not saying that it is because of 16 months delay you don't file it. I'm only saying it has to go before the dowry prohibition officer.

[00:12:50]>> Let's see. We'll leave all options open to you to come back after filing of the final report. Yes. I'll only Yes.

[00:12:58]>> I'll only tell you Whether it is 16 months, whether it is a bruise happened anywhere I'm not going to enter into all that because it is a 482 petition and we are still at the nascent stage where we are only looking at the complaint. Complaint about it's about 16 page whether it's lawyer drafted or the petition complaint drafted is not the stage at which I do it. Other members of the family, yes. Fair enough. Then let me say this. Subject to what Arun would say. 498A three and four charge sheets on a daily basis. That we'll see. That's right. In that charge sheet there'll be self-serving statements of victims. So, at the stage of at the stage of crime very rarely exceptional cases I have quashed the proceedings against the husband. Which is why I began with the scope of review that now it is incumbent on the court to ask more probing questions at that stage is what I think we have No, probing questions will only be if there is some investigation done.

[00:13:48]Nothing is done in this. It's still nascent stage. 16 months later, what kind of investigation can happen if you have said We don't know. allegations I'm an alcoholic, I'm a drug consumer, I have abused you. No, we don't know. See, we don't statements are not recorded still. Nothing is done. We'll see later.

[00:14:03]Yes, Arun.

[00:14:05]Other bit buddy.

[00:14:08]I too arranged marriage How is that How it is arranged? No problem. Don't go into details.

[00:14:37]I have the house where I was assaulted by the mother-in-law and her My learned friend I'm not on that. See, why you draw other members of the family? Law is quoted against you in that.

[00:14:57]This husband, yes. Husband also there is law, I'm not saying. But, okay. The facts obtaining in each case. So, we'll permit the husband to come back after the final report if there is a final report. Others I'm not going. My only My only point will be that in respect of these allegations that I have my family has demanded and these allegations were met.

[00:15:18]How is it that I prove the negative? If somebody says I have demanded two crore, how can I prove the negative? They having said that they have met that demand. Burden is on them. We'll see.

[00:15:28]So, the court will only direct the police to investigate that as well.

[00:15:30]>> Police will investigate everything.

[00:15:31]Every angle the husband.

[00:15:34]Every angle. Yes.

[00:15:36]In that context, we should Every angle. Yes. Even the dowry angle, everything they will see. Because 16 months delay. That we'll see. See, well I'll tell you not not in this case or other case.

[00:15:49]Women when they are harassed by the members of the family or the husband they don't immediately jump to the police station. They always think of a reconciliation.

[00:15:59]Only when she's driven to the wall by all of them or the husband yes files a petition for divorce, then she feels yes I have I have undergone all this misery. I have endured everything. Even then it ends up in a divorce. So, then registers a 498A.

[00:16:13]I don't know. Not in all cases.

[00:16:15]Sometimes frivolous, sometimes you know.

[00:16:17]But, you can't paint everything with the same brush. I fully agree. So, there are When women is driven to the wall only she will go. Otherwise reconciliation definitely will go on as a process.

[00:16:28]Because endur- endurance is known to them more than us. Yes. It should not happen that in the attempt to save the the harassed men that genuine complaints are not weeded out. No, that's So many cases I stay for the husband, quash it on the husband. But, there should be some material under charge sheet and everything we can do it or not. Here it is a stage of investigation will not entertain.