Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently dismissed charges of ‘cruelty’ against a man by his wife and declared that she had filed a false criminal complaint of dowry harassment against him.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice A.A. Sayed was hearing a family court appeal filed in 2008 by the man for dissolution of marriage on the ground of desertion and cruelty by his wife. The court directed that ₹1000 each be paid every month to his daughters. The woman also sought enhancement of maintenance.
The couple was married according to Christian rites and customs on December 28, 1987 and have two daughters. He was compelled to quit his job at HPCL and move to Goa. Following this, his wife registered an FIR alleging harassment for dowry and criminal breach against him in January 2005. She also accused him of stealing her gold ornaments and demanding ₹2 lakhs from her to buy a car. On her complaint, the man, who was in Goa with his parents, was held and spent seven days in jail. Thereafter, his wife said she had a cordial relationship with him and his parents.
The court said, “Thus, if on the wife’s own showing, the Criminal Complaint filed by her against her husband was false and was filed only to bring back her husband, and consequent to which he was arrested and was in jail for about 7 days, it would constitute a clear case of cruelty by the wife against her husband.”
The court said, “it being an admitted position that the wife is having her own source of income from the matrimonial house at Bandra which is given on leave and license and the fact that since April 2005, she is exclusively occupying the flat at Thane belonging to her husband, the wife would not be entitled to maintenance as prayed by her from her husband and we see no reason to interfere with the order of the Family Court in rejecting the application of the wife for maintenance.”
