A Landmark judgement of Supreme Court has gone unnoticed by media and TV.

In Ushaben case, SC has dispelled assumption that only wife can make complaint under 498a, cruelty to wife by in laws.

Suppose you are living in Delhi. Your son in law and your daughter are living in Mumbai. You receive a distress call from your daughter that her in laws are doing cruelty to her.

You can file 408a conplain in Delhi Police Station. Police will register it as 0 number FIR and will forward it to Mumbai Police for investigation.

If Delhi police refuse to take your complaint, you can move courts and court will call for report.

This judgement is landmark judgement but it has gone unnoticed by media.

Though SC did not say all these what is mentioned above in open words, this is the meaning of this judgement.

Now even a neighbor can file complaint to police that Husband living in next house is beating his wife.

Common perception is such that only “Wife” can file complaint of 498A IPC.

But no.

Supreme Court says that if any police officer finds that you are ill treating your wife, then without permission of your wife, even police officer can file complaint under 498A of IPC and can punish you through court.

Moral: Husbands should not ill-treat wife. Adjust with her. Respect and fear her.

If you want to read more details, it is in Supreme Court judgement dated 23/3/2012 Ushaben versus Kishorbhai. It is also reported in 2012 (3) Scale page 594

Haresh Raichura
7/9/2012

If false complaints are filed on behalf of Wife, then husband has also remedies in court to set aside such complaints.

It pains my heart when I see that High Court has passed a patently erroneous judgement against a poor man.

The poor man, who may be living on hand to mouth basis,may have to come to Delhi and to file case in Supreme Court.

It is normally beyond reach of a poor man to reach Supreme Court. They usually talk with their relatives and take loans from relatives to meet expanses of filing a case in Supreme Court.

I met one such poor client today. High Court judgement was wrong on face of it. But this poor man had no option but to file matter in Supreme Court.

This reminded me of late Senior Advocate B. K. Mehta. We had engaged him. And a poor man paid Rs.10K towards his fees.

Next day, B. K. Mehta called me and said that his conscience was biting him. He returned Rs. 10K to poor man.

I wish there are more such Senior Advocates in Supreme Court.

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Haresh Raichura
6/9/2012