A false dowry harrasment complaint has been filed on me and my family(Mother,Father and Brother) by my wife. Based on this complaint an FIR under sections 498A,506 section 34 and Section 3&4 of DP act has been registered. We managed to get an anticipatory Bail. Police after inquiry chargesheeted me under 498A,506 and Section 3&4. (Other family members names have not been chargesheeted). Now I have the following queries 1) Can I apply for Divorce now? If yes then will it affect the 498A case adversely? 2) My brother is to leave to US. Can my wife challenge acquitting other family members? If yes then will it cause any problems to my brother?
1. You can apply for divorce at any point of time. The pendency of 498A case has nothing to do with the merit of the divorce suit.
2. Your brother can leave country at any point of time. There is no such bar. The final decision of 498A case can be challenged by any party who is aggrieved by its verdict. The challenge of the decision of acquittal is not going to hamper career of any of the accused persons.
Applying for divorce, contain some conditions as per Hindu Marriage Act.
The following are the Grounds for Divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
1. Adultery
2. Cruelty
3. Desertion - continuous period of 2 or more years
4. Conversion - to a religion other than Hindu
5. Mental Disorder - abnormality
6. Leprosy
7. Venereal Disease
8. Not Heard
9. No Resumption of Co-habitation
Newly married couples cannot file a petition for divorce within one year of marriage. When was your marriage ?
498A case is not adversely affected .If your family members names are evicted from charge sheet so they are released from 498A case so your brother has no problem .More over Hon'ble Supreme Court stated 498A false cases as Legal Terrorism, 90% of the cases are fake and it has become a business to some unscrupulous women who want to extort money in the name of marriage. Only 10% are genuine cases. Now 498A is ultimately USED as a gamble. These women file cases at the advice of their lawyers, close relatives with vested interests or just to persecute the hubby and in-laws or to defraud the hubby and his family as they know that this law is actually designed to be more effective as a tool for extortionists and blackmailers than for protecting women facing dowry harassment or domestic violence.
1. You are at liberty to apply for divorce. Filing for divorce has no correlation with the charges filed against you under DP Act. Divorce proceedings are substantive and operate in their field untrammelled by the complaint filed against you. It will have no bearing on the 498 case.
2. Your wife can prefer to challenge the clean chit given to your brother and other family members by the police. If the court decides to proceed against your brother then he may be restrained from leaving India, or if he is in US when the court proceeds against him then he can be ordered to return to India to face the legal proceedings.
Help,
1) You can file for divorce now. There is no bar because you are an accused in 498A. There won't be any bearing on the 498a case.
2) Even if your wife challenges the acquittal of your brother it would not cause any hindrance in his leaving for the US.It is not enough for her to challenge the acquittal, she will have to prove t the allegations to get them convicted of she goes in appeal.
Dear Querist
You may file a divorce case and it will not effect on 498A case.
She may file an application u/s 173(8) of Cr.P.C for further investigation but there is very less chance to implicate other family members now.
so no need to worry, fight the case on merit.
if you want to contact me over the phone and get further detail consultation then you can get my detail from admin and after deposit the consultation fee you can get my opinion or further assistance over the phone too.
the fee is very reasonable
1.There is no bar in applying for Divorce and it will have no affect on the 498A proceedings going on separately.
2. Since your brother has been found innocent, the wife can file an application under section 193 to summon your brother on the basis of the prima facie evidence. If the court feels that your brother presence is required, he may be summoned and then he will have to come to india for his presence. Further, even if the court dismisses, the 193 application, your wife can file an appliction under Section 319 for summoning of the accused after the examination of witnesses in the case is done. if from the evidence it appears that your brother could be an accused and could be convicted for the offence alleged, the court can issue summons for facing trial in the case.
1. Yes, you bcan file a divorce suit on the ground of cruelty. It will not affect the 498A case in any way,
2. Your wife can challenge the charge sheet which has excluded your brother alongwith others but it will hardly have any favourable result to her.
