The Supreme Court has revived criminal proceedings against an Indian Muslim software professional settled in the US, for demanding dowry from his Indian wife.
The Supreme Court has revived criminal proceedings against an Indian Muslim software professional settled in the US, for demanding dowry from his Indian wife, assaulting her, and subjecting her to cruelty by justifying his “relationship” with an American woman.
Saimra Khanum married Mohammad Asfar Towheed at Patna in 1999. But her turbulent marriage was all over by 2003 when Saimra returned home. A year later, Towheed secured a decree in the US to divorce her.
Khanum filed a criminal complaint before the Patna magistrate seeking action against her husband and in-laws for cruelty, demanding dowry and cheating her. She charged her husband and in-laws of assaulting her when their demands were not met. Besides, Towheed harassed her when she protested against his “illicit relationship” with an American girl. He told her to shut up, as “it was a status symbol to have a girl friend (in America)”. He also “demoralised” her by saying she “belongs to an orthodox and backward family”.
The Patna court had summoned the Towheeds but the high court quashed the summons against Towheed and his Patna-based parents. However, the Supreme Court scrapped the HC order.
A bench of justices Arijit Pasayat and Asok Kumar Ganguly allowed Khanum’s appeal against the HC order, which they said had been passed in a casual manner. The HC quashed the charges and the summons, giving a clean chit to Towheed, without a proper trial.
Khanum’s lawyer stressed that the HC exceeded its power in rushing relief to the husband, who had not established before the trial court that the charges made against him by his wife were false.
“We find substance in the plea of Khanum’s counsel that HC has not indicated any basis or reason for exercising jurisdiction under Section 482. The application was disposed of in a casual manner. Therefore, the order of HC is clearly indefensible and is, accordingly, set aside,” the apex court said.
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