The Karnataka High Court has refused to cancel a police case against a man who is accused of mentally and physically hurting his wife. The court said that the evidence, including WhatsApp chats and medical reports, shows that the case must go for a full trial.
This case was filed by the wife, who accused her husband and his parents of cruelty. She also said that he had affairs with other women and physically abused her many times. The husband and his parents had gone to the court asking to cancel the case against them.
In December 2024, the High Court had earlier put a temporary hold on the investigation. At that time, it said the complaint mostly talked about a disagreement over a pet cat and how the husband gave more attention to the cat than the wife.
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The complaint has a paragraph about the pet cat that always hurt the wife, the court noted in its latest order.
However, after hearing both sides and looking into the wife's objections, Justice M. Nagaprasanna said that the complaint had serious claims of cruelty that cannot be ignored.
The wife had submitted WhatsApp chats as proof. After reading those chats, the judge said:
They are so disturbing that they cannot be written in the order. The chats clearly show the husband using bad language and behaving in a cruel way.
The court also said that in November last year, the wife had to be admitted to the hospital due to injuries caused by her husband. The hospital report said her wrist and hand were hurt because the husband twisted them.
The chats also show that the husband forced the wife for unnatural sex. These claims are serious and must be examined during the trial, the judge said.
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After reading the complaint and looking at the documents, the court said there is a clear case of mental and physical cruelty by the husband.
"So, we cannot stop the investigation or cancel the case against the husband at this stage," the court said.
However, the court found that there was no strong evidence against the husband's parents. So, it cancelled the case against them.
The husband’s lawyer was Advocate Keshav M Datar. The state was represented by Additional State Public Prosecutor B.N. Jagadeesha. The wife was represented by Advocate R. Nagaraj.
The wife's lawyer showed hospital documents, photos, and WhatsApp messages. He said the husband had affairs with other women, placed bets, and often beat his wife. He also said the police case was filed only ten days before the court put a stay on it, and the investigation had just started.
The court agreed that the investigation should go on, at least against the husband. It said that all the facts should come out during a full trial.
Case Title: Manjunath V & Others AND State of Karnataka & ANR
Counsel for petitioner: Advocate Keshav M Datar
Counsel for R1: Additional State Public Prosecutor B.N. Jagadeesha
Counsel for R2: Advocate R. Nagaraj
Case No: WRIT PETITION No.33819 OF 2024.
