The Jharkhand High Court recently said that disgruntled wives are using Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalizes cruelty to women by her in-laws, as a weapon rather than a shield.

Judge Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi noted that these cases are frequently brought by wives in a moment of passion over unimportant matters, without giving them enough thought.

Minor matrimonial skirmishes often assume serious proportions, resulting in the commission of heinous crimes in which elders of the family are falsely implicated by the wives, the court added.

It was the case of the petitioners (in-laws of the complainant) before the Court that the complaint filed against them alleging torture was false because they were traveling at the time.

The Court observed that the petitioners reside in Hyderabad, while the alleged incident occurred in Dhanbad.

Further, on the date of the alleged incident, the petitioners were traveling on a train, implying the possibility of false statements in the complaint, the Court added.The Court also observed that the petitioners’ roles were not disclosed in the case, and the allegations against them were only general and vague.

Expressing its disappointment with the filing of baseless cases under Section 498A of the IPC, the Court dismissed the entire criminal proceedings, including the order taking cognizance against the petitioners.