Not Allowing Daughter-In-Law To Watch TV Not Cruelty, Court Rules

The Bombay High Court's Aurangabad Bench overturned the conviction of a man and his family over allegations that they did not let his wife watch television, go to the temple, meet neighbours and made her sleep on the carpet.

A single judge bench of Justice Abhay S Waghwase, said the aforementioned actions against the woman, now dead, would not constitute as "severe" under the offence of cruelty under Indian Penal Code Section 498A, LiveLaw reported. The court said that the allegations would not comprise physical and mental cruelty as they pertained to the domestic affairs of the accused.

The court also dismissed the woman's family members' allegation that she was made to fetch water at midnight, after the man's family stated that in their village water supply commenced there at that time and all households went to fetch water at 1.30 am.

The man and his family had earlier been convicted by a trial court on the basis of a case that ill-treatment had pushed the woman to die by suicide on May 1, 2002. "There is a gap of almost two months since deceased, complainant and witnesses met each other. They (mother, uncle and aunt of deceased) have admitted that, there was no communication from deceased either written or oral, she has not conveyed that there was any instances of cruelty in proximity to suicide. There is no evidence to show that at that relevant point or any proximity to the suicide, there was any demand, cruelty or mal-treatment so as to connect them with the suicidal death. What triggered the suicide has remained a mystery," the high court said.