Not allowing daughter-in-law to sleep on bed, watch tv 'not cruelty', says Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench has overturned a 20-year-old conviction against a man and his family for alleged cruelty toward his late wife, which was claimed to have led to her suicide.

The original complaint accused the wife’s in-laws of taunting her and imposing strict restrictions on her freedoms, such as forbidding her from watching TV, visiting the temple, or going to neighbours’ residences alone. She was also reportedly made to sleep on the carpet and tasked with discarding the family’s garbage.

However, the court ruled that these actions did not qualify as “severe” under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A Live Law report quoted the High Court saying that the case “did not rise to the level of physical or mental cruelty.”

In its judgment, the bench acquitted the man, his parents, and his brother, who had previously been convicted under IPC Sections 498A and 306 for cruelty and abetment to suicide. This decision followed an appeal by the accused against the trial court’s conviction.

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Additionally, family members of the deceased claimed she was forced to fetch water at midnight. The court, however, referred to witness testimonies stating that water was typically supplied around midnight, and it was customary for residents of Varangaon, where the family lived, to collect water around 1:30 am.

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