If A Married Woman Is Asked To Help Out Around The House, It Doesn’t Mean She’s Being Treated Like A Maid- Bombay High Court

A married woman’s request to help out around the house does not entail that she is being treated like a maidservant, the Bombay High Court recently noted. The court further stated that it was impossible to assess if the husband and in-laws were harsh to the wife without a description of the alleged actions.

An application under section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for the quashing of an FIR lodged by a lady against her husband and his family members was being heard by a division bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Rajesh S. Patil of the Aurangabad bench.

The applicants were charged with crimes under Sections 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing harm), and 498-A (cruelty by husband and relatives).

Facts of the case

The wife was treated decently for one month after marriage, then, according to the FIR, she was treated like a maidservant. Her father was asked for Rs. 4 lakhs by her husband’s family to buy a four-wheeler. It was said that her husband physically and mentally tormented her when she said that her father couldn’t afford it.

She gave birth to a son, and the husband’s family brought her to the hospital. The gestation time is not through, according to the doctor. She continued by saying that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law then physically attacked her and accused her of deceiving them.

She was informed that she could only live with her father if she was paid Rs 4 lakh by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who had gone to her father’s home. According to the FIR, they had also assaulted her at the time.

Issues Raised

The wife had filed numerous complaints against her ex-husband and his family, according to attorney Sagar Bhingare who represented the husband and his family. Either the complaints were dropped or the defendants were found not guilty. These instances demonstrate that the wife has a pattern of leveling these accusations.

Bhingare also stated that the wife filed a report on September 9, 2020, and the marriage took place on December 12, 2019. On June 27, 2020, the claimed incident at her father’s home allegedly took place. It is difficult to imagine that such an incident would have occurred just 5–6 months after the wedding. On February 28, 2020, the spouse also bought a four-wheeler for over 17 lakhs. Therefore, it is not even a consideration to ask the father of the wife for money in order to buy a car.

The wife’s attorney and APP S. J. Salgare for the state both argued that since the inquiry had already been completed and there was sufficient evidence to support the charges, the FIR should not be quashed.

News Mania Desk