Brief Facts
- The Appellant No. 1 got married with the complainant on 04.12.2003 and soon after marriage disputes arose between the parties and they started residing separately. Thereafter, the wife-complainant filed a complaint and upon investigation, the charge sheet came to be filed for the offences punishable under Section 498-A IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 against the accused no. 1 – husband, accused no. 2 – mother in law, accused no. 3 – father in law and accused no. 4 – brother in law and upon trial all the accused persons were held not guilty.
- Against the said acquittal, the State filed an appeal and the complainant-wife also filed a revision petition wherein accused no. 1 to 3 were held guilty for offence under section 498-A IPC and sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. However, in the meanwhile the marriage of accused no. 1 and complainant was found to be null and void by the High Court.
Issues
- Whether the offence and conviction under section 498A is maintainable when the marriage is found to be null and void?
Held
- Petition was allowed and Appellant was acquitted on the ground that the marriage itself has been found to be null and void.
- Reliance was placed on the judgment passed in the case of Shivcharan Lal Verma v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (2007) 15 SCC 369, stating that conviction under Section 498-A IPC would not be sustainable since the marriage between the parties has been held to be null and void.
Relevant Para No.
- 5, 7, 8