- Allahabad High Court guidelines advising caution in arrests in matrimonial disputes will remain in force
- Order came in case where the husband spent 109 days and his father 103 days in jail over false cases
- The Supreme Court ordered the wife to issue a public apology as moral redress for wrongful imprisonment
The Allahabad High Court guidelines that advise going slow with arrest in cases involving matrimonial disputes will stay, the Supreme Court said today while hearing a case where the husband and his father had spent months in jail after the wife filed a slew of false cases against them.
The guidelines framed by the High Court will remain in effect and should be implemented by the authorities, the court said.
Endorsing the safeguards, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih, said the husband was jailed for 109 days and his father for 103 days as a result of the criminal cases filed by the wife.
"What they have suffered cannot be resituated or compensated in any manner" the court said. The woman, who is an IPS officer, has been asked to issue an unconditional public apology, which the court said was just a moral redress.
Under the Allahabad High Court's guidelines, no arrest or police action can take place against the accused without a cooling off period after the First Information Report is filed. This period extends to two months and during this, any further issues will be directed to the district's Family Welfare Committee.
Every district shall have at least one or more Family Welfare Court comprising at least three members.
Only those cases shall be referred to the Family Welfare Committee in which the offence is punishable under Section 498-A (cruelty), along with other sections attracts a sentence of imprisonment of less than 10 years.
The guidelines aim to curb the growing tendency among litigants to implicate the husband and his entire family by making sweeping allegations.
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