Holding that only the husband was liable to be prosecuted under the Muslim (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Women Act, 2019, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court has quashed FIRs against two in-laws of a woman noting that the prosecution is unsustainable.
A woman filed a complaint on September 6, 2019, against her husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. She accused her husband of giving her triple talaq. In her complaint, she also mentioned about the harassment and assault by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
Other than booking the three under Muslim Women Act (2019), Beed police also registered a case under harassment, assault, criminal intimidation, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The High Court bench of Justice Sunil Deshmukh and Nitin Suryavanshi quashed the FIR against the woman’s sister-in-law noting that she was staying with her husband at a different place in the same city and only vague and general allegations were made against her.
The FIR against mother-in-law has also been quashed under Muslim Women Act. However, other charges including assault, harassment will remain in place.
