The Supreme Court of India recently rendered a landmark ruling by dismissing the case under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which protects women from their in-laws in matrimonial disputes. This decision demonstrates how the law is being abused as a tool to pressure or coerce a husband into getting a divorce. Similar to the Atul Subhash suicide case, Atul Subhash claimed that his estranged wife Nikita Singhania and her family had harassed him over demands for a dowry.

Thus, this article's ruling serves as a reminder of the importance of the law in striking a balance between circumstances when cruelty is actually occurring and preventing the misuse of its provisions.
 
Why was it in the news?
Within the Digambar and Others vs. State of Maharashtra & Others case:

• A bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan was hearing the appellant's appeal against the Bombay High Court's Aurangabad Bench's ruling to dismiss a criminal case against the appellants.
• The complaint claims that by making her eat tainted food, her husband's parents (the appellants) forced her to undergo an abortion. She also said that because she didn't have a male kid, they subjected her to physical and psychological abuse.
• In addition to the provisions of Section 498A, charges under Sections 312/313 (causing miscarriage) of the IPC—now Sections 85 and 88/89 of the BNS—were also added.

The Court's Observation

• A police report regarding the miscarriage and cruelty was given a two-year delay. In addition, there was no proof that the appellants had ever been told about the pregnancy or that they had given the chemical that caused the miscarriage.
• According to Justice Gavai, the accusation of cruelty cannot be criminalized since there was no purpose to cause the victim to suffer severe injury, commit suicide, or suffer substantial suffering.
• The Court observed that broad charges against the appellants were made without citing any particular cases of wrongdoing or cruelty. Moreover, the FIR in this instance is false because it makes no mention of any such accusations.
• The complaint only reveals the general claim that the appellants' son used to abuse her; it makes no specific accusations regarding the appellants' own maltreatment of her, making it a false dowry case.

The Court's ruling
The Court has stated that an offense under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code cannot be committed based solely on the accusation of "cruelty." "It must be carried out with the goal of gravely hurting the victim, pushing her to commit suicide, or significantly injuring herself" . In this case, the appeal was successful, and the case was dropped.

The function of a divorce attorney
A couple who want to end their marriage might get legal advice from a divorce attorney. Among other things, they handle property settlement, alimony demands, child or minor custody, and spousal maintenance.
In addition to negotiating and standing up for their clients, they continue to give them one-on-one advice on how to reduce disputes and reach a favorable resolution for everybody involved.

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