Aurangabad: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, while refusing to quash a First Information Report (FIR) against the in-laws of a woman, held that keeping a child away from her mother amounts to mental harassment amounting to cruelty under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A bench comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Rohit Joshi was hearing a plea filed by the mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law of a woman challenging an FIR against them, registered on the complaint of the woman submitting that she was constantly subjected to harassment and cruelty since her parents did not fulfil their demand of dowry. She also submitted that her husband and in-laws forcibly retained the custody of her four-year-old daughter while expelling her from the house and they were not handing over the custody despite a lower court granting custody of her daughter to her.
Applicants had not handed over custody of daughter to woman despite court order, High Court noted
The High Court noted that the applicants before the court had not handed over custody of the daughter to the woman despite an order passed by a lower court and said that the four-year old child is kept away from her mother and a judicial order passed by the competent court of law is also not being obeyed. It further said that although, the daughter is with husband, the applicants are assisting woman’s husband in the sense that his whereabouts are not being disclosed.
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Keeping a child away from her mother in defiance of court order amounts to mental harassment amounting to cruelty: High Court
“Keeping a young child of four years old away from her mother in defiance of court order also amounts to mental harassment amounting to cruelty in as much as it would certainly cause grave injury to mental health of respondent No.2, mother of the child,” the High Court said.
Mental harassment is continuing till date, it is a continuing wrong: High Court
“Such act of the in-laws amounts to cruelty within the meaning of Explanation (a) to Section 498-A (offences committed by the husband or relatives of the husband subjecting cruelty towards the wife) of IPC. We further record that the said mental harassment is continuing from day to day till date. It is a continuing wrong,” the High Court added while refusing to quash criminal proceedings against the mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law of the woman.
