Bombay HC strikes down charges against 3 women in case of ‘acts that spread AIDS’
The trio from Sangli district was charged with offences under sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of a dangerous disease) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of dangerous disease) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), based on a complaint by the woman’s widowed daughter-in-law. She alleged they hid the fact that her husband had AIDS at the time of their wedding.
The Bombay high court (HC) struck down charges levelled against a woman and her two daughters, of committing acts which resulted in the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The trio from Sangli district was charged with offences under sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of a dangerous disease) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of dangerous disease) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), based on a complaint by the woman’s widowed daughter-in-law. She alleged they hid the fact that her husband had AIDS at the time of their wedding.
The woman and her daughters are facing prosecution for offences under section 498A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty by her husband or in-laws) of the IPC on the basis of the complaint. A judicial magistrate first class at Sangli, framed additional charges under section 269 and 270, which was challenged in the HC. Justice Mridula Bhatkar struck down the orders citing that the complainant chose not to file any complaint during her 11-year marriage.
