In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has asserted that in cases of dowry death where allegations of harassment are of a general nature, trial courts are not permitted to summon a man's brother and sister-in-law under Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi has overturned the Allahabad High Court's decision, which had previously refused to intervene in the trial court's directive to summon the appellants, Shivani and her husband Sanjeev Kumar.

Representing the appellants, it was argued before the Supreme Court that while the primary accused individuals, namely the deceased's husband and mother-in-law, had been acquitted by the trial court, an appeal challenging the acquittal was currently pending before the High Court.

The offences related to unnatural death of a lady and allegations were made that it was a death resulting from cruelty inflicted on her for unlawful demand for dowry.

The FIR was registered alleging commission of offences under Sections 498A, 304B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. 

In the official charge-sheet, the husband and mother-in-law of the deceased woman were named as the accused. However, the investigative agency determined that there was no evidence linking the current appellants to the commission of the offense. As a result, they were not included as accused individuals in the charge-sheet.

Nevertheless, the trial court proceeded to issue summons against the appellants based on an application filed by the informant, Akhilesh Kumar, who happened to be the deceased woman's brother.

"We have been taken through evidence. We do not find any specific allegation against the appellants barring allegations of harassment, which are omnibus in nature. Under such circumstances, in our opinion, the High Court erred in law in sustaining the order passed by the Trial Court for summoning the appellants," the bench said.

The bench allowed the appeals and set aside the HC's order.

"As a consequence, the order summoning them by the Trial Court in exercise of jurisdiction under Section 319 of the Code shall also stand invalidated," the bench ordered.