A bitter legal battle between a couple who have been apart for 21 years was finally settled on Wednesday by the Supreme Courtroom. The couple from Andhra Pradesh has a history of failed mediations. In a dowry harassment case, the wife wanted her husband jailed. The court ordered the spouse to withdraw her plea to enhance his jail term.
In the case of video conferencing, Chief Justice NV Ramana requested to speak to the couple via video conferencing. As the lady was uncomfortable speaking English, the official language of the apex court, the CJI conversed in Telugu and additionally explained her statements to fellow judges.
The couple had lived separately since 2001, and the husband, who worked for the state income division, had been financially supporting his wife and their son for the last 18 years, despite being convicted in a case filed by the wife. After their separation, the spouse filed a prison complaint alleging cruelty by the husband. A charge was filed against him under Part 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A CJI informed the lady who has applied to the highest courtroom for an extension of jail time for her husband, ‘If he goes to jail, you will lose your monthly compensation since he will lose his job,’ he said. Defending the husband, a state employee in the Guntur district, D Ramakrishna Reddy stated that the CJI explained the legal situation to the woman in Telugu, making it clear that the increased jail term would not be helpful to both of them.
In a bid to increase the jail time period, Reddy said, ‘you will have to forgo the monthly compensation if we increase the jail time period’. The lady listened patiently to CJI’s recommendation and immediately agreed to dwell together with her husband as long as she and their sole child are properly cared for.
The top court ordered each spouse to file separate affidavits within two weeks informing the enterprise that they wish to reside collectively. By withdrawing her appeal against the excessive court decision, the wife has submitted an application to compound the dowry harassment case against her husband who, in turn, will withdraw his plea for a divorce decree from a trial court in Andhra Pradesh.
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Under an IPC part 498A, dowry harassment is a compoundable offence in Andhra Pradesh, however, such instances cannot be resolved by the parties themselves in another part of India. During this ongoing appeal, the Supreme Court stepped in to address the challenge raised by the lady towards the Andhra Pradesh Excessive Court order which upheld her husband’s conviction, however, reduced the jail sentence to reflect the period he spent in jail.
Previously, the trial courtroom had convicted the husband in 2002 under part 498A (dowry harassment) under the IPC and had imposed a one-year jail sentence in addition to a fine. The court acquitted her mother-in-law and sister-in-law of the same charge. An appeal by the husband against the judgment was denied by the revision courtroom.
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