Marriages in India are quite a gamble! Some work wonders where we see happy family portraits with parents, grandparents and grandchildren….while some end up being total disasters compelling men to channelise their entire energy towards fighting false cases.
Voice For Men India brings to you one such story of a married man, who had to study law in order to seek judicial relief for himself and his family.
His Story
Chetan (name changed) got married to Saanchi (name changed) in 2014. This was second marriage for both spouses. There was no exchange of dowry and in fact the families even signed an affidavit detailing out gifts given to each other and expenses incurred during the marriage.
The affidavit was registered at court which is in accordance with the Dowry Act amendment 1984 that states:
The presents given to bride & groom be maintained in a list. This list be made the nearest date to marriage.
All expenses were shared in the ratio of 50:50.
Blessed With Child
Couple was blessed with a boy in 2015. Since both Chetan and his wife were working in the corporate sector, the household chores were mostly taken care by his mother along with maids.
According to the husband, his wife did not really face any challenges even after the birth of their child, as there was enough family support back at home. Chetan shares,
We went to parties, attended functions in the city and even outstation, while our child was taken care by his grandparents (my parents).
My Wife Had Abusive Nature
According to Chetan, despite having a very comfortable life in her matrimonial home, his wife was verbally abusive to him and his parents. Recalling the nature of his wife, Chetan said,
On couple of occasions, Saanchi had not just physically assaulted my mother, but also hit our house help (maid).
Wife Returns To Her Parents, With Our Son
It was 2019, when on a trivial issue, Chetan’s wife left her matrimonial home along with their 4-year-old son and returned to her parent’s abode. Chetan expressed that Saanchi even locked them all up from outside when she left for her home.
Husband shares,
The minute I learnt about this, I took the next flight and rushed to my in-laws’ place.
Wife Files Police Complaint
After returning to her parents’ home, Saanchi lodged police complaints at two different police stations. According to Chetan, both complaints had two different versions.
Within a few days, police filed a charge sheet, where complaint of ‘assault’ was deleted, and subsequently an FIR was lodged against Chetan and his family under Section 498-A IPC, Section 323 IPC and Dowry Prohibition Act 3/4.
Chetan states,
The police did not take any statement from our side, neither did any investigation on my wife’s complaint. Within 12-days of filling the FIR, the charge sheet was filled.
Mahila thana even refused to take any counter-evidence during the investigation. Only copy-paste statements of the complainant and her relatives were accepted.
Even the ornaments which we gave her in marriage had been mentioned as dowry.
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Husband Reads Up Law
Chetan shares how despite being an Engineer cum MBA, he had to read up existing matrimonial laws in India to fight against false cases by wife and her family. Chetan was successful in getting the FIR quashed against himself, his old parents and brother.
In the interim, Chetan connected with some Men’s Rights Activists on ground where he was referred to case references. After reading up laws in detail and spending lot of time with MRA groups, Chetan drafted the quashing of FIR application on his own.
High Court Of Indore, Madhya Pradesh
The bench at the High Court went through the contents of the FIR filed by wife, which read:
…She lived with her in-laws and since after her marriage, she alleged that her in-laws and her husband have harassed her and demanded Rs 10 Lacs as dowry at various occasions and harassed her mentally and physically.
They were taunting her and harassing her and they were constantly pressurizing her to bring dowry from her parents. Hence, the police has registered the FIR against the petitioners.
Learned counsel for the husband referred to the affidavit signed by both parties with respect to marriage expenses and gifts exchanged. However, on the other hand, learned counsel for the state opposed the same and said,
The petitioners have harassed the respondent no. 2 (wife), hence, she has field the FIR against the petitioners due to the harassment by the petitioners.
Trial is going on, charge-sheet has already been filed and if the petitioners have not committed any harassment or demand of dowry, the learned trial Court shall considered the same as per the evidence available on record at the time of final judgment. Hence, the petitioners are not entitled for any relief from this Court.
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The bench heard arguments from both sides and remarked,
Respondent no.2 (wife) has made only omnibus allegations against the present petitioners in the FIR as well as in the statements recorded under Section 161 of Cr.P.C.
The respondent has lived with the present petitioners for a long period, such types of allegations have not been levelled by her to any one and no report was filed and first time, she has levelled the allegations filing the FIR against the petitioners almost 5-years later of her marriage.
With regards to wife lodging two complaints at different police stations, the High Court noted,
An NCR was lodged before the Police Station, but no allegations have been made regarding harassment and cruelty.
Adding further, the court said,
On the same day, a written application was also filed before Mahila Thana, Indore regarding demand of dowry and cruelty and a written complaint was again filed.
In the complaint, there is no allegations of demand of dowry and cruelty…the allegations on the basis of which the present FIR has been registered.
Only omnibus allegations were levelled against the petitioners by the respondent.
Quashing the petition, the High Court said,
In view of the preceding analysis, this petition is allowed.
Impugned FIR registered at Police Station Mahila Thana, Indore under Section 498-A, 323/34 of IPC and under Section 3/4 of Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 along with the subsequent proceedings pending before the JMFC, Indore in case pending against the petitioners are hereby quashed.
Leave your comments on this story below:
Engineer Husband Reads Up Law To Fight False Cases By Wife & In-Laws | His Story | #498A
▪️"Even the ornaments which we gave her in marriage had been mentioned as dowry"
▪️HC: "Only omnibus allegations were levelled by wife"#VoiceForMenhttps://t.co/ayC7RNr6Jc
— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) December 16, 2022
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