New Delhi: The Supreme Court has cautioned the courts from proceeding with the trial when police had roped in all the relatives of husband as accused in dowry harassment cases.
The bench said the courts should be careful in proceeding against the distant relatives in crimes pertaining to matrimonial disputes and dowry deaths.
Writing the judgment Justice Rao said the relatives of the husband should not be roped in on the basis of omnibus allegations unless specific instances of their involvement in the crime are made out.
In this case, the wife of K. Subba Rao of Telangana state was married in 2008 and they were residing in USA. After a few years of marriage, the wife returned to India and filed a complaint alleging harassment by her husband and his family members.
The police filed chargesheet against the husband and the relatives. The bench said that except the statement that the appellants supported the husband who was harassing the wife nothing indicating their involvement was mentioned.
