Recently, the Kerala High Court, under the single-hedaed bench Justice K. Babu, held that a husband's girlfriend or a woman who maintains a sexual relationship with him outside marriage, cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case centered on the petitioner, Chandhini T.K., who was represented by advocate R. Premchand, and it was brought against the State of Kerala.

Case Brief- 

Chandhini T.K., fourth accused in a Criminal Case before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court (Economic Offences) in Ernakulam, faced charges under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to cruelty towards a woman by her husband or his relatives.

The complainant made allegations made against her husband and his relatives, including Chandhini T.K., for subjecting her to cruelty.

This led to the registration of an FIR. Subsequently, the police filed a final report, charging Chandhini T.K. and others under Section 498-A in conjunction with Section 34 of the IPC.

The core of the petitioner's argument, as presented by her counsel, revolved around the assertion that Chandhini T.K. couldn't be categorized as a 'relative' within the purview of Section 498-A.

This assertion was grounded in the claim that she was allegedly engaged in a live-in relationship with accused No.1, rather than being directly related by blood or marriage. This contention prompted Justice K. Babu to conduct a detailed analysis of the specific wording of the section and its associated explanation.

In the judgment, Justice K. Babu stated, “The specific language of the Section and the Explanation thereof lead to the conclusion that the word ‘relative’ would not include a woman with whom a man has had sexual relations outside of marriage. By no stretch of imagination, a girlfriend or even a woman who maintains sexual relations with a man outside of marriage in an etymological sense would be a ‘relative’.”

The court concurred with the argument and proceeded to quash the proceedings against her.

These being the facts, I am of the opinion that there will not be a question of  prosecution against the petitioner under Section 498-A of IPC. The FIR and the Final Report as against the petitioner shall stand quashed," the judge said in the order.