Bombay HC Says Taunts on Wife’s Complexion, Cooking Not Cruelty Under IPC Sections 498A, 306

The Bombay High Court has ruled that taunting a wife over her dark complexion or cooking skills amounts to domestic quarrels and not cruelty under Section 498-A Indian Penal Code (IPC), observing that such conduct is not of a 'high degree' so as to attract criminal liability.

A single judge bench presided over by Justice Shriram Modak acquitted the husband in a case dating back to a 1998 conviction.

“On record, though wife was being taunted on account of her complexion, I do not think that it will fall within the explanation to Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. Even a conviction for the offence punishable under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code cannot be sustained, because the prosecution could not prove the suicide being the outcome of the harassment," the Court held.

The ruling was rendered in an appeal filed by appellant husband Sadashiv Parbati Rupnawar, challenging his conviction under Sections 498-A and 306 IPC.

The appellant and his deceased wife, Prema, got married in 1993. Both were illiterate and lived in a rural setting. Prema had allegedly faced taunts about her dark complexion and poor cooking. Her husband reportedly told her that he would remarry. Prema had shared these concerns with her mother and other relatives.

In January 1998, Prema’s body was found in a well. Her family alleged that harassment by her husband and in-laws had driven her to suicide. The family registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 498-A and 306 IPC. While the trial court convicted the husband, it acquitted the father-in-law.

Reversing the trial court’s verdict, the High Court said the prosecution had failed to establish a link between the harassment and Prema’s suicide. It added that the judgment of the trial court cannot be sustained in the eyes of the law, as the learned Judge has forgotten the basic principles and ingredients of the Sections.

Acknowledging the harassment, the Court said, “There was harassment, but it was not of that kind of harassment due to which criminal law can be set in motion.”

The Court further added, “The deceased informed him about the harassment by her husband and father-in-law. The reasons were she was dark complexion and not preparing food properly. If we consider all these reasons, they can be said to be quarrels arising out of matrimonial life. They are domestic quarrels. It cannot be said to be of such a high degree so as to compel Prema to commit suicide. So, an offence under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code is not made out.”

Accordingly, the Court allowed the appeal moved by the husband and set aside his conviction.

Case Title: Sadashiv Parbati Rupnawar v. State of Maharashtra

Order Date: 11th July 2025

Bench: Justice S. M. Modak