Sunday, June 22, 2025
spot_img

Woman’s live-in partner cannot be prosecuted for cruelty as husband, says Kerala HC

Date:

Share post:

spot_imgspot_img

Kochi, July 11: In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court stated that a woman’s partner, who is not legally married, cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A of the IPC for the offence of cruelty. The court on Thursday ruled this after quashing the proceedings against the petitioner who was the live-in partner of the complainant woman.

“Thus, it appears that in order to attract an offence punishable under Section 498(A) of IPC, the most essential ingredient is, subjecting a woman to cruelty by her husband or relative/relatives of the husband. The term ‘husband @ hubby’ means a married man, a woman’s partner in marriage. Thus, marriage is the constituent which takes the woman’s partner to the status of her husband. Marriage means a marriage in the eye of the law.

Thus, without legal marriage, if a man becomes a woman’s partner, he will not be covered by the term ‘husband’ for the purpose of Section 498(A) of IPC,” ruled the court. The allegation was that the petitioner mentally and physically harassed the woman from March 2023 to August 2023 while they were in a live-in relationship.

The court further pointed out that to attract an offence under Section 498A, an offence of cruelty must be committed by the husband or relatives of the husband. It stated that a man, who was a woman’s partner without legal marriage, cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A.

IANS

spot_imgspot_img

Related articles

20-year-old NCC cadet Rifiness Warjri youngest woman from Meghalaya to summit Mount Everest

  By Lamphrang Nongspung Shillong, June 22: Twenty-year-old NCC cadet from Meghalaya, Rifiness Warjri, has created history by becoming the...

‘Circus of deception’, BJP’s Amit Malviya slams Congress ‘fake news factory’

New Delhi, June 22 : BJP leader Amit Malviya on Sunday launched an acerbic attack on the Congress,...

Gujarat unveils electronics policy to attract Rs 35,000 crore investment

Ahmedabad, June 22:  Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has launched the Gujarat Electronics Component Manufacturing Policy-2025 (GECMS-2025), which aims...

Two surrendered Maoists kidnapped, killed in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur

Raipur, June 22 : The shadow of insurgency deepened once again in Chhattisgarh’s conflict-hit Bijapur district, as Maoist...