Bengaluru: Criminal law cannot be used to turn matrimonial incompatibility, marital discord or non-consummation of marriage into a prosecution for cruelty by adding allegations that have no legal basis, Karnataka high court said in a recent ruling.The court made the observation while granting relief to a police officer from Mysuru city and quashing criminal proceedings against him.The petitioner married the complainant, who is also a police officer, on Nov 19, 2023. However, their relationship turned sour over the non-consummation of marriage.On March 30, 2024, the wife lodged a complaint alleging offences under Sections 498A, 504 and 506 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Police conducted an investigation and filed a chargesheet, which the husband challenged before the high court. He argued that the allegations did not meet the requirements of the IPC sections invoked. He also contended that non-consummation of marriage cannot by itself constitute an offence under Section 498A. With regard to Sections 504 and 506, he said the complaint contained vague allegations of assault and did not disclose the elements required to constitute those offences.The complainant, on the other hand, argued that the offences were clearly made out in both the complaint and the chargesheet. She contended that the petitioner’s conduct amounted to cruelty as he had not consummated the marriage and repeatedly told her, “let us be friends only,” claiming that he was in a relationship with another woman.After examining the materials on record, Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the entire prosecution was based on one central allegation — that during the four months they lived together as husband and wife, the petitioner did not consummate the marriage. “Apart from this, every other allegation appears to have been ingeniously woven into the narrative” only to bring the case within the purview of Section 498A, the judge observed. He added that the additional allegations did not meet the legal requirements of the offence or disclose conduct that could amount to cruelty under the provision.Justice Nagaprasanna also noted the consequences of the criminal case for the petitioner, who is a serving police officer. The registration of the case had led to a departmental inquiry against him, affecting his service career and professional reputation.The judge said the consequences of an untenable prosecution went beyond the criminal court, leaving the petitioner to face a “two-pronged assault”: the alleged misuse of criminal proceedings and the stigma and adverse service consequences arising from the pending criminal case. The high court accordingly quashed the proceedings against the police officer.
