'Mother-in-law asking you to make dosa amounts to harassment and cruelty?': Karnataka HC questions woman

The woman had also stated that she was denied nutritious food and was made to wait for her husband to finish eating before she could have her meals.

The Karnataka high court on Tuesday questioned a woman's claims against her husband and in-laws, while referring to the evidence and arguments submitted by the petitioner.

The court expressed its reservations regarding the woman's claims that she was subjected to marital cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (now replaced by Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), after being informed that her allegations included being asked to prepare dosas and ragi balls (ragi mudde).

The woman had, in her complaint, also stated that she was denied nutritious food at her husband's house and was made to wait for her husband to finish eating before she could have her meals, Bar and Bench reported. Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the woman had also claimed that she had been suffering from hair loss owing to her alleged ill-treatment by her husband and in-laws.

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Justice Nagaprasanna, while hearing the case, asked, “Your hair loss, asking you to prepare dosa, asking you to prepare ragi ball, not giving you nutritious food - will that amount to harassment on demand of dowry or cruelty under Section 498A? ... Mother-in-law asking you to make ragi ball for the husband is wrong? Hair loss is Section 498A?”

The judge further highlighted another allegation made by the woman, claiming that her husband had forced her to switch her shampoo, according to the Bar and Bench report. “'He forced me to change my shampoo from Meera to Dove.' What is this? All this nitty-gritty cannot become cruelty,” the judge added.

‘Such claims can constitute grounds for divorce, not cruelty’

Justice Nagaprasanna said that the allegations made by the woman could be advanced as grounds for divorce proceedings, but could not be “elevated” to being cruelty.

“All these allegations can be advanced in divorce proceedings. You cannot elevate them to the position of cruelty. All these nitty-gritty family issues cannot become matters of crime,” the judge said.

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The court was hearing a petition filed by the mother-in-law and other relatives of the woman (complainant), seeking to quash criminal proceedings initiated against them, Bar and Bench reported. During the hearing, the court rebuked the complainant for presenting these allegations as cruelty under Section 498A.

“If you have an axe to grind, don't project it as a 498A case. If you have really suffered something, please tell me. What is it that they have done against you?” the judge asked. He further said that claims of the complainant being made to eat after the husband could not be brought within the ambit of marital cruelty.

“I was asked not to eat until my husband ate and he preferred hot dosas. He would finish breakfast at 10 AM and only then I had my food.' Can that be the ingredient of Section 498A? Is it not the kind of skirmishes that happen in a family?” Bar and Bench cited Justice Nagaprasanna as saying.

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