The Calcutta High Court held that a husband’s pressure on his wife to bring her share of ancestral property may amount to a dowry demand under Section 304B IPC. The Court upheld his conviction, reduced the sentence to ten years, and acquitted the parents-in-law.
The Jharkhand High Court held that a husband’s unwillingness to live with his wife or emotional distance alone does not amount to cruelty under Section 498A IPC. The Court said normal matrimonial discord, lack of communication, or reluctance to perform conjugal obligations cannot by themselves constitute the offence.
The Supreme Court witnessed a sharp exchange after the Enforcement Directorate sought an adjournment in the case involving Congress leader Chaitanya Baghel. Responding to the request, CJI Surya Kant remarked, “First, it’s ‘list it, list it’; then comes the adjournment,” noting that judges read case files overnight during partial working days.
Odisha Police arrested the husband of a judicial officer following allegations of dowry harassment, domestic violence, and prolonged mental and physical abuse. The arrest was made after the woman officer filed a complaint, with police stating the couple had been facing serious domestic disputes for the past ten months.
The Supreme Court refused to interfere with convictions in a Chhattisgarh dowry death case, strongly criticising dowry harassment and humiliation of brides, while Justice BV Nagarathna emphasised that courts must send a strong societal message against financial coercion and mistreatment in matrimonial homes.
