Mumbai: Bombay High Court Rules Minor Quarrel Not Equivalent to Cruelty, Quashes Case Against Senior Citizen Couple

Mumbai, 16th November 2023: In a recent verdict, the Bombay High Court has emphasized that a minor quarrel does not amount to cruelty, as it quashed a case filed against a senior citizen couple accused of mistreating their adopted son’s estranged wife. Justices Anuja Prabhudesai and Nitin Borkar, who presided over the bench, not only cleared the elderly couple of the charges but also criticized the investigative process and condemned the actions of the police.

The court particularly censured the freezing of the petitioner couple’s bank accounts and fixed deposits, highlighting it as arbitrary and against the law. Justices Prabhudesai and Borkar observed that such actions, forcing the elderly couple to seek financial assistance from relatives for survival, violated their right to live with dignity.

The order to the police not to file a charge sheet in the case was allegedly ignored, raising suspicions about the fairness of the investigation. The court expressed concern about the Investigating Officer framing innocent individuals as accused and prosecuting them without prerogative. This unjust treatment forced the petitioners to face trial, causing mental trauma, humiliation, stigmatization, and defamation.

The court stressed the importance of fair and proper investigations, asserting that they should align with constitutional and legal provisions. The complainant woman, married to the adopted son of the petitioner couple in 2018, had alleged continuous taunting during her stay with them for a month. However, the court clarified that petty quarrels do not constitute cruelty and dismissed the allegations of taunting, awkward laughter, and restricting access to the refrigerator as falling outside the definition of cruelty under Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code.

In response to the constant threats and allegations made by the complainant and her father, the petitioners decided to distance themselves from their son. They issued a public notice in 2019 disassociating from the child and his married life. The court ordered the case against the petitioner couple to be quashed, along with the unfreezing of their bank accounts and fixed deposits.

Moreover, the court directed the police commissioner to record the matter in the service performance record of the Investigating Officer who filed the charge sheet against the court’s explicit order.