Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has decided to drop the case against a woman who was accused of cruelty by her male colleague’s wife. The court says that the woman, who was called the fiancée or girlfriend of the husband, cannot be held responsible under a certain law (Section 498A) because she is not a family member.
The case started when the wife of the man accused his female colleague of having an affair with him. The wife received a phone call saying her husband was cheating on her and found her husband’s girlfriend’s picture on his phone. She also said that her husband tried to strangle her when she found out he was giving their shared jewelry to the colleague.
The colleague said that she and her husband had marital issues and that the wife had threatened her at work. The colleague then filed a police complaint against the wife for harassment. Later, the wife filed a complaint against her husband, his family, and the colleague under Section 498A.
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The colleague argued that she was wrongly accused. The court agreed, saying that there was no evidence of physical harm or threats against the colleague and that the allegations were general in nature. The court also referred to a Supreme Court judgment that says a girlfriend or concubine is not a family member and therefore cannot be held responsible under this law.
The court also cited another Supreme Court judgment that says even if the allegations are true, they do not constitute an offense or make out a case against the female colleague.