NEW DELHI:The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that relatives of a husband should not be roped in cases of matrimonial disputes and dowry deaths unless specific instances of their involvement in the crime is made out. The bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao also cautioned the lower courts to be careful in proceeding against “distant relatives” of the husband in such cases.
The court was hearing a case challenging a 2016 verdict of the Hyderabad High Court, which had dismissed a plea by the petitioners to quash criminal proceedings against them in a case of matrimonial dispute.
The apex court judgement came as it allowed a plea filed by the maternal uncles of a man challenging a Hyderabad High Court s January 2016 verdict dismissing their petition for quashing criminal proceedings against them in a matrimonial dispute case.
In this case, the wife of K. Subba Rao of Telangana was married in 2008 and they were residing in USA. After a few years of marriage, the wife returned to India and filed a complaint alleging harassment by her husband and his family members, including the maternal uncles of her husband. She also complained of the kidnapping of her son by the husband.
