Husband’s girlfriend not a ‘relative’ for prosecution under S. 498A IPC’; Gujarat HC quashes cruelty case

Gujarat High Court: In an application filed by a woman seeking quashing of an FIR registered under Sections 498A¹, 323², 504³, 506(2)⁴ and 114⁵ of the Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) against her by her alleged boyfriend’s wife, a Single Judge Bench of J.C. Joshi, J., partly allowed the petition, thereby quashing the FIR and all consequential proceedings initiated in pursuance thereof.

Background

The complainant, wife of the petitioner’s alleged boyfriend, filed an FIR under Sections 498A, 323, 504, 506(2) and 114 of the IPC stating that her husband threatened her life while asking for a divorce and informing her about his affair. She stated that the petitioner would frequently visit her marital home and harass her to persuade her to divorce her husband.

Aggrieved, the petitioner filed the present application.

Analysis

Upon examining the allegations, the Court held that the petitioner was the alleged girlfriend of the complainant’s husband, and no other status or relation had been assigned to her. In this regard, the Court placed reliance on Dechamma I.M. v. State of Karnataka 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3853, wherein the Supreme Court reiterated that a girlfriend or even a woman with whom a man has had romantic or sexual relations outside of marriage could not be construed to be a relative for the purposes of prosecution under Section 498A of IPC.

The Court also held that apart from above material placed on record by way of the FIR and the chargesheet, nothing in the FIR fulfilled the essential ingredients of Sections 323, 504, 506(2) of IPC and there was an absence of documentary evidence supporting case of complainant. In these circumstances, the petitioner could not be permitted to face rigmarole of the trial.

Accordingly, the Court partly allowed the petition thereby quashing the FIR and all consequential proceedings initiated in pursuance thereof.

[X v. State of Gujarat, CRMA No. 14331 of 2019, decided on 23-04-2025]

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Advocates who appeared in this case :

For the applicant: Zalak B Pipalia

For the respondent: APP Soham Joshi

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