South Carolina married man files dowry complaint over ‘domestic partner’ India News

NEW DELHI: Can a married man in a live-in relationship be prosecuted for dowry harassment for complaining against a woman with whom he is having an extramarital affair, even if the law states that only a wife can file such complaints against her husband and his relatives?A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and NK Singh on Friday entertained an appeal by doctor Lokesh BH challenging a Karnataka High Court order dismissing his plea to quash the prosecution filed against him based on a complaint filed by his alleged live-in partner. “The relevant question for consideration in this petition is whether a man who is in a live-in relationship with a woman in the nature of marriage can be prosecuted for an offense under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or the corresponding section of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita,” the bench said.The SC sought the government’s response on the issue and requested Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to assist the court. It also appointed lawyer Nina Nariman as amicus curiae. Senior advocate Sanjay Nuli, appearing for the petitioner, said the HC had wrongly interpreted the stringent provisions of Section 498A to apply even to live-in relationships, although the definition under Section IPC envisaged action by the wife against the husband. Section 498A provides that “Whoever the husband of a woman or a relative of the husband ill-treats the woman shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine”. Under the Act, cruelty includes dowry demands, coercion and ill-treatment.In this case, cardiologist Lokesh married Naveena in February 2000. Another woman, Teertha, claimed that she married Lokesh in 2010. Teertha lodged multiple police complaints against Lokesh, his mother, sister and cousin in 2015, but these complaints were closed. In 2016, Teertha filed a complaint alleging that Lokesh tried to burn her to death while demanding dowry, though Lokesh’s employer testified that he was at his workplace, a hospital, on the day of the alleged incident. She later filed a domestic violence lawsuit against him. Lokesh filed a case in the Family Court in Bengaluru seeking a declaration of non-existence of marriage between him and Tirtha, and the case is still pending. In 2023, police filed charges against Lokesh for trying to burn Tirtha and demanding dowry. He challenged it to the Supreme Council, but it was dismissed.