In-laws can't be named accused in dowry case sans evidence

High court observes that there were no specific allegations made against the elderly petitioners, quashes the case

- TG NAIDU @ Hyderabad

THE Telangana High Court has ruled that in domestic violence and dowry harassment cases, vague allegations made against in-laws, especially as part of a vendetta against the husband, cannot be sustained without supporting evidence. The court criticised the practice of including elderly in-laws in the list of accused without any concrete material and quashed the FIR filed against them.

Justice Juvvadi Sridevi passed the order while hearing a petition filed by 74-year-old Govind Prasad and his wife Usha Sharma, residents of Chorburzi, Maharashtra.

The couple had approached the court challenging their inclusion as accused in a case registered under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cruelty by husband or his relatives.