The question which arose for adjudication before the bench was a tricky one — “If a husband was living with another woman besides his wife, whether the same would amount to ‘cruelty’ within the meaning of Section 498A”.
This decision was given by a bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and A K Patnaik while allowing the appeal of a woman who was accused by a wife of causing her mental cruelty by living with her husband after their marriage fell apart. Significantly, the bench set aside the decisions of the Jharkhand trial court and the high court, both of which had held that the girlfriend was liable to face trial in the mental cruelty case. No case under Section 498A could be slapped against the other woman — “be it the husband’s girlfriend or concubine” — even if it was found that she lived with him after estrangement from his wife, the court said. At best, it could be a ground for seeking divorce, the court held.
New Delhi: The other woman in a husband’s life could universally be the major source of marital discord but the wife cannot accuse the girlfriend of causing mental cruelty to her under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court has ruled.
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