Another wonderful Supreme Court judgment delivered by Justice Shri Dalveer Bhandari ji, quashing the false IPC 498A case due to no specific allegations on the accused.

32. Unfortunately, at the time of filing of the complaint the implications and consequences are not properly visualized by the complainant that such complaint can lead to insurmountable harassment, agony and pain to the complainant, accused and his close relations.

33. The ultimate object of justice is to find out the truth and punish the guilty and protect the innocent. To find out the truth is a herculean task in majority of these complaints. The tendency of implicating husband and all his immediate relations is also not uncommon. At times, even after the conclusion of criminal trial, it is difficult to ascertain the real truth. The courts have to be extremely careful and cautious in dealing with these complaints and must take pragmatic realities into consideration while dealing with matrimonial cases. The allegations of harassment of husband’s close relations who had been living in different cities and never visited or rarely visited the place where the complainant resided would have an entirely different complexion. The allegations of the complaint are required to be scrutinized with great care and circumspection. Experience reveals that long and protracted criminal trials lead to rancour, acrimony and bitterness in the relationship amongst the parties. It is also a matter of common knowledge that in cases filed by the complainant if the husband or the husband’s relations had to remain in jail even for a few days, it would ruin the chances of amicable settlement altogether. The process of suffering is extremely long and painful.

 34. Before parting with this case, we would like to observe that a serious relook of the entire provision is warranted by the legislation. It is also a matter of common knowledge that exaggerated versions of the incident are reflected in a large number of complaints. The tendency of over implication is also reflected in a very large number of cases.

 35. The criminal trials lead to immense sufferings for all concerned. Even ultimate acquittal in the trial may also not be able to wipe out the deep scars of suffering of ignominy. Unfortunately, a large number of these complaints have not only flooded the courts but also have led to enormous social unrest affecting peace, harmony and happiness of the society. It is high time that the legislature must take into consideration the pragmatic realities and make suitable changes in the existing law. It is imperative for the legislature to take into consideration the informed public opinion and the pragmatic realities in consideration and make necessary changes in the relevant provisions of law. We direct the Registry to send a copy of this judgment to the Law Commission and to the Union Law Secretary, Government of India who may place it before the Hon’ble Minister for Law & Justice to take appropriate steps in the larger interest of the society.”

 

Citation: [(2010) 7 SCC 667], [AIR 2010 SC 3363], [2010 SCC CR 3 473], [2010 SCALE 8 131], [2010 ALLMR CRI 0 2947], [2010 RCR CRI 4 45], [2010 CRLJ 0 4303], [2010 SCJ 6 609], [2010 AD SC 9 28], [2010 AIR SC 4975], [2011 MLJ CRI 2 89], [2010 JT 8 410], [2010 SLT 6 7], [2010 DMC 2 387], [2010 SUPREME 6 312], [2010 OCR 47 367], [2010 AIOL 501], [2010 ANJ SC 2 202], [2010 CRIMES SC 4 19], [2010 SCC 7 66], [2010 SCC CRI 3 473], [2011 AIC 99 149], [2010 GUJ LH 3 258], [2010 CRI LJ 4303]

Other Source links: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/46704/ or https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5609aee0e4b0149711414fdd