3 min readNew DelhiOct 16, 2026 06:45 PM ISTThe Bombay High Court held that no offence was made out against the husband and his relatives. (AI-generated Image)The Bombay High Court recently quashed an FIR filed by a woman against her husband and his five relatives, observing that being asked to wash clothes and utensils, as alleged, would not amount to cruelty towards a married woman under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).Justice Abhay J Mantri was hearing a plea filed by the husband and his relatives seeking to quash the FIR alleging cruelty. “I do not find substance in the said allegation. Apart from that, even assuming that she was asked to wash clothes and utensils, such an act does not constitute the ingredients of Section 498-A (cruelty by a husband or his relatives toward a married woman) of the IPC and cannot be termed as cruelty within the meaning of Section 498-A of the IPC,” the October 1 order read.According to the order, the wife had filed a report against the husband and his relatives, alleging that they treated her cruelly by taunting her that she was barren and unable to conceive a child. The woman had also claimed that in 2024, her husband had taken her to the house of a relative to do household work, such as washing clothes and utensils, in an act of cruelty, and that they had also abused her and driven her out of the house.Advocate Ganesh T Jadhav, appearing for the husband and his relatives, argued that the allegations against them were “vague, omnibus and general in nature” and that the allegations of the wife were false and were filed to force her husband to take her back with him. Justice Abhay J Mantri noted that there were no specific contentions against the husband and the relatives.Advocate Priyanka S Rane, appearing for the state, and advocate Kavita P Shinde submitted that the husband had asked the wife to bring a four-wheeler from her father, and he had also abused and assaulted her at the instigation of relatives.Also read | Woman can be charged with gang rape under BNS for acting with group: Delhi High CourtThe high court noted that there were no specific contentions against the husband and the relatives, and the allegations were “general and omnibus” in nature. It also noted that neither the FIR nor the chargesheet disclosed any offence which could be punished under Section 498-A of the IPC.The bench also observed that the in-laws of the wife were residing separately in different cities and she rarely visited them. While quashing the FIR, the high court held that it would not be appropriate to continue with the case as it would be an “abuse of the process of law”.