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Matrimonial Dispute: HC quashes FIR filed by woman against elderly couple for cruelty
The Bombay High Court quashed an FIR against an elderly couple, stating that the investigation was "malafide" and a "gross abuse of the process of law." The court criticized the investigating officer for filing a chargesheet without sufficient evidence. The couple had been accused of cruelty by their daughter-in-law. The court also directed for the couple's bank accounts to be unfrozen.
Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) recently quashed a First Information Report (FIR) alleging cruelty by a woman against her 80-year-old and 75-year-old in-laws at the Malabar Hill police station.
The HC, while allowing a petition by the in-laws, came down heavily on Rohini Jayker Dhere, investigating officer (IO), and said that the senior couple was dragged unnecessarily despite there being no ‘prima facie evidence’ to show their involvement. It said that the investigation was ‘malafide’ and was a ‘gross abuse of the process of law’.
While passing the order, HC made observations against the IO and stated that he acted arbitrarily by filing a chargesheet when there was a court order that barred them from filing a chargesheet without the permission of the court.
“The Investigation Officer does not have unfettered discretion to brand an innocent person as an accused, to file a charge sheet, and to send him to trial unless uncontroverted allegations and material collected in the course of the investigation raise a suspicion that the person is involved in the commission of a cognizable offence,” the court said.
A bench of justice Anuja Prabhudesai and justice Nitin R Borkar, having found no merits in the case, said that it was necessary to clear the name of the petitioners and thereby quashed an FIR against them.
Earlier this year, the senior couple had applied to the HC to have an FIR against them dropped. The FIR accused the couple of being involved in several offences, including cruelty, criminal breach of trust, and cheating against their daughter-in-law under the IPC.
In May 2018, the complainant married the couple’s adopted son. After marriage, for some time, she stayed with the in-laws in her matrimonial home and later joined her husband in Dubai, as he was employed there. Later, whenever she returned to Mumbai, she stayed with her parents.
The complainant claimed that during her stay with the in-laws, they harassed her for trivial things. They did not allow her to touch the refrigerator and gave her leftover food. She also alleged the father-in-law looked at her with a smirk and often asked her to bear all her expenses as her father did not give her enough.
Allegations were also levelled against her husband. The husband, according to her, often quarrelled with her and subjected her to physical and mental cruelty during her stay in Dubai. Once she left Dubai, he prevented her from returning under the pretext of visa expiry. She further accused the husband and his parents of retaining jewellery worth ₹1.1 crore given to her by her parents, and hence, an FIR was filed in September 2020.
However, according to the in-laws, the FIR was solely filed to harass them, as it did not reveal any offence against them. The complainant has not resided with them since June 2018. They further claimed that during the investigation, the IO decided to seal their lockers and freeze their bank accounts, leaving them no money to meet their daily expenses as well as medical expenses. They also sought to de-seal and de-freeze the lockers and bank accounts as they were implicated in a malicious proceeding.
The court, finding evidence of highhandedness in the investigation of the police, accepted the arguments put forward by the elderly couple and also directed for the de-freezing of their accounts.
