Allahabad HC says no arrests for two month 'cooling period' in marital cases

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered a two-month 'cooling period' to be implemented in all cases under section 498A of the IPC, directing that no arrests be made within this period after registration of the FIR.

Prayagraj:The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered a two-month 'cooling period' to be implemented in all cases under section 498A of the IPC, directing that no arrests be made within this period after registration of the FIR. The HC observed that cases under the relevant section (dowry cruelty) are often 'exaggerated manifold', adding that the Family Welfare Committee should consider the matter and produce a report during the aforementioned period. The order was given by the bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi.

Explaining the Welfare Committee-based workaround, the court said that as soon as the case is registered, it should be sent to the Family Welfare Committee. The committee will then prepare a detailed report and submit it to the police and magistrate. "No member of the committee will be called as a witness in the trial," it also noted. The order came after a similar case was being heard on Wednesday, in which the mother, father, and son of a family filed separate revision petitions after the son's wife accused them of subjecting her to dowry-related atrocities.

While the HC granted a discharge of plea to the parents, it denied the son the same which directed him to appear before the concerned court for a trial. "Every matrimonial case is being exaggerated manifold with all the pungent and caustic allegations of dowry-related atrocities involving the husband and all family members", the court observed. It also slammed the complainant for the language used in the FIR. (With Agency inputs)