A man can be a woman’s partner without a legal marriage, and this relationship does not fall under the term ‘husband’ as per Section 498A of the IPC, according to the Kerala High Court.
The Kerala High Court has ruled that a man who is a woman’s partner without being legally married does not qualify as a ‘husband’ under Section 498A of the IPC. The Court accepted a request from the petitioner to dismiss a criminal case claiming cruelty under this section. It pointed out that the marriage between the petitioner and the complainant was declared invalid by the family court because it occurred while the complainant was still married to someone else. Justice A. Badharudeen stated, “It is clear that without a legal marriage, the woman’s partner cannot be considered her husband, and Section 498A applies only to her husband or his relatives. Therefore, since there is no legal marriage, no offense under Section 498A can be charged against the woman’s partner or their relatives, as the partner does not hold the status of a husband.”
Senior Advocate K. Ramakumar represented the petitioner, while Senior Public Prosecutor Renjit George stood for the respondents. The petitioner argued that for an offence under Section 498A to apply, the act of cruelty must be committed by the husband or his relatives. He also stated that ‘husband’ refers to a man legally married to a woman. The petitioner claimed that the Family Court had declared his marriage to the wife as null and void, meaning there was no legal marriage to classify him as a husband under Section 498A. According to Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), one requirement for marriage is that neither person can have a living spouse at the time of the marriage. The High Court noted that the Family Court found the complainant was still married to someone else before marrying the petitioner, which led to the conclusion that their marriage was null and void.
The court stated, “Since the marriage is declared null and void and the conditions of marriage are not met, there is no legal marriage according to the law.” The court noted, “To establish an offense under Section 498(A) of the IPC, it is crucial that a woman is subjected to cruelty by her husband or his relatives. The term ‘husband’ refers to a married man, who is a woman’s partner in marriage. Therefore, marriage is what gives a man the status of a husband. Without a legal marriage, a man cannot be considered a woman’s husband under Section 498(A) of the IPC.”
The Court stated that the petitioner was never recognized as a husband because the marriage was invalid from the start and was later confirmed as such. As a result, the prosecution’s claim that the petitioner violated Section 498A along with Section 34 of the IPC is not valid, and this case needs to be dismissed. Therefore, the High Court approved the petition.
Cause Title: X v. State of Kerala & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:79262)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Senior Advocate K.Ramakumar; Advocates S.M. Prasanth, T. Ramprasad Unni, T.H. Aravind, R.S. Aswini Sankar, G. Renjith and M. Manojkumar (Chelakkadan)
Respondents: Senior Public Prosecutor Renjit George
