Karnataka HC allows man to prosecute wife over frivolous charges

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court granted liberty to a man to prosecute his wife for falsely accusing him of dowry harassment and suffering from a sexually transmitted disease.

Justice M Nagaprasanna gave the permission while allowing the petition filed by the husband, who had claimed that his wife spared no effort to paint him black by getting almost every test done on him, including the test for human papillomavirus infection, a sexually transmitted disease (STD), which all went in vain.

The husband had approached the court challenging the FIR registered by the Basavanagudi Women's police station and the subsequent charge sheet filed before the 37th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

The petitioner, who lived in the US and the complainant wife in Bengaluru, got to know each other through an online matrimony website. They got married on May 29, 2020 after their  families' approval. After about two months, the husband travelled to the USA as his H1B visa was to expire. He claimed that he made five attempts seeking appointments to get his wife to the USA, however she was not interested.

When their relationship soured, the husband moved the family court in Bengaluru on December 3, 2021, seeking divorce and also filed a police complaint. On February 3, 2022, the wife too filed a complaint against her husband under section 498A of the IPC and sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The police filed a charge sheet and the magistrate court took cognisance on June 14, 2022.

The husband contended that all that his wife wanted was his money and that she had demanded Rs 3 crore after all conciliation efforts failed. On the other hand, the wife, who appeared in person before the court, contended that her husband suffers from STD.

Justice Nagaprasanna noted that the wife was given 614 grams of silver and 160 grams of gold as per tradition as 'Stridhana' and the statements of her mother and brother as well as contents of the charge sheet don't indicate any demand for dowry or any cruelty inflicted upon her.

The court also cited an e-mail in December 2021 that shows that the husband had sought confirmation regarding her travel to the USA and therefore her claim that he was not interested in taking her to the USA was false.

"Such frivolous cases registered by the wife have taken enormous judicial time and have led to enormous civil unrest, destruction of harmony and happiness in society. It may not be that these would be the facts in every given case. If the facts narrated are as observed, the complainant has, in gross misuse and abuse of the process of law, set the criminal law into motion," Justice Nagaprasanna said.

The court further said, "Therefore, it becomes a fit case where the husband must be given liberty to initiate proceedings for malicious prosecution or initiate proceedings under Section 211 of the IPC."