दूसरी पत्नी पति की क्रूरता की शिकायत नहीं कर सकती: कहा इनकी शादी कानूनी नहीं, कर्नाटक हाईकोर्ट ने लोअर कोर्ट का फैसला रद्द किया

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the second wife cannot file a complaint of cruelty against the husband. The court set aside the decision of the lower court in this case and acquitted the husband.

The single bench of Justice S. Rachaiah in its recent judgment said, the complaint filed by the second wife against the husband and his in-laws is not maintainable. The lower court has erred in not paying attention to this.

The High Court said that the woman making the complaint is the second wife of the accused. Therefore, the conviction of the accused under IPC section 498A (cruelty to a married woman) is set aside as their marriage is not legal.

let’s figure it out first
A woman lodged a police complaint against Kantharaju, a resident of Vittavatanahalli in Tumakuru district. The woman had claimed that she was Kantharaju’s second wife and they lived together for five years and had a son.

The woman said in the complaint that after some time she developed health problems. She was unable to work due to paralysis. Thereafter Kantharaju started harassing her and subjected her to cruelty and mental torture.

Police took action on the complaint of the woman. The matter went to the trial court in Tumakuru. The court convicted Kantharaju on January 18, 2019, after a hearing. In October 2019, the sessions court confirmed the sentence.

Against this decision, Kantharaju moved the High Court in 2019 with a revision petition.

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision
The High Court referred to two Supreme Court judgments – the Shivcharan Lal Verma case and the P Shivakumar case. The court said, ‘It is clear from these two judgments of the Supreme Court that if the marriage between the husband and wife has ended as null and void, then the offense under Section 498A of IPC is not made out.