Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court held that preventing a wife from entering the kitchen of her matrimonial home amounts to mental cruelty under Section 498A of IPC, refusing to quash an FIR against the husband while granting relief to his mother.In a recent order, Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke found that allegations against the Nagpur-based husband disclosed a prima facie case of cruelty, while those against the mother-in-law were vague and nonspecific. “She was even not allowed to enter the kitchen, and she was asked to bring the food from outside,” the court said, adding that such conduct was sufficient to infer mental cruelty.The case arose from a complaint filed by a woman in Akola, who alleged that after her marriage on Nov 29, 2022, her husband frequently quarrelled with her, restricted her movements and prevented her from visiting her parents’ home. She alleged that she was barred from cooking, forced to get food from outside, and subjected to humiliation, including having her belongings thrown out and being pressured to seek divorce.Challenging the FIR filed in 2024, the husband argued that the complaint was a “counterblast” to his divorce petition and contained only general allegations. The prosecution and the complainant opposed the plea, maintaining that the accusations clearly established mental cruelty.The court agreed with the prosecution, observing that the allegations against the husband were specific and indicative of wilful conduct causing mental harm. At the same time, it noted, “There are general, omnibus and fake allegations only because she is mother-in-law of the complainant-wife,” and quashed proceedings against her.Explaining the legal framework, the court reiterated that cruelty under Section 498A includes “any wilful conduct… likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health”.Partly allowing the husband’s application, the court permitted prosecution against him to continue, while setting aside the FIR and related proceedings against the mother-in-law.
