"Women Don't Leave Matrimonial Home Unless Harassed:" MP Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to quash an FIR filed by a woman against her husband and in-laws, claiming harassment. The Court observed that no newly married woman would like to ruin her matrimonial home unless she is really harassed.

Hearing a petition filed by the woman’s husband to dismiss the woman’s FIR, Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal noted that since it was pertinent to note that the FIR was lodged within only eight months of marriage, he observed, "no newly married wife would like to ruin her matrimonial home unless she is harassed or subjected to cruelty in connection with dowry demands."

MP Court Refuses To Quash Harassment FIR

Further, the court observed that the woman’s allegations cannot be considered false or baseless and added that the defence cannot be looked into at the initial stage of the proceedings.

The MP High Court was hearing the petition under Section 482 of the Cr. PC for dismissing the FIR filed by the woman under Sections 498-A, 294, 323, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

The woman alleged that she had gotten married in 2021 and that she had been facing harassment and torture immediately after her wedding. She mentioned that her husband’s grandfather had passed away the day after the wedding, and her husband and in-laws had begun blaming her for bringing misfortune into their family.

Since then, they have been harassing her for not bringing enough dowry and demanding that she bring Rs. 5 lakh from her parents. The woman also claimed that her husband had beaten her several times at the instigation of her in-laws.

The husband’s counsel argues that the woman had filed that complaint within eight months of marriage and noted that no specific date, time, or incident had been mentioned in the FIR to prove the act of harassment or torture amounting to cruelty. The counsel further added that the woman didn’t live with the husband for over a period of 30 days after the marriage and that she was "not of good nature" as she was "quarrelsome."

After taking into consideration all the submissions and material evidence available in the case, the court observed that it didn’t seem like the woman was falsely implicating her husband and inlaws. The court also added that the husband’s defence cannot be considered in the petition to quash the FIR given that the investigation has yet to be completed by the police and dismissed the husband’s petition.

Unless Push Comes To Shove, Women Don't Call It Quits

No woman, regardless of how far along in the marriage she has been, would simply file criminal charges against her husband or in-laws due to petty fights. Given that raising a voice against domestic abuse in wedlock doesn’t go well in a patriarchal country like India where marital disputes are normalised, why would women want to create an issue unless they are really being harassed?

Most often, when women speak out against facing abuse and harassment in marriage, they are told to adjust. While some women succumb, some don't, and the latter face heavy criticism for making mountains out of nothing and being family breakers. But why should women be expected to tolerate abuse and hold on to broken marriages for the sake of society, family, and children?

It takes so much courage for women to call out an abusive partner or walk out of a marriage, especially in a country like India. No woman would want to deal with the insensitive and unsolicited comments that society throws at them. Every woman who’s taking the plunge is well aware of what life is going to look like moving forward, and she won't do that unless she’s given her very best only to realise that it is destroying her. It's welcoming to see the judiciary passing such much-needed statements.

Suggested Reading: Complaint Of Dowry Harassment Can't Be Quashed Even If Divorce Notice Issued: Karnataka HC

Views expressed by the author are their own