Section 498A IPC — Cruelty & Quashing · 8 January 2025
Inability To Develop Sexual Relations Is Not 'Cruelty' Under Section 498A IPC; FIR Quashed
High Court of Judicature at Bombay · 2025 LiveLaw (Bom) 10
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Following marital discord and non-consummation of the marriage, the wife registered an FIR under Section 498A IPC alleging cruelty on the ground of her husband's physical or psychological inability to develop sexual relations. The husband moved the Bombay High Court under Section 482 CrPC to quash the FIR and the proceedings against him and his family.
The High Court held that an inability to consummate a marriage may be a civil ground for nullity or divorce under personal law, but it does not meet the criminal threshold of 'cruelty' under Section 498A IPC. Treating a civil matrimonial grievance as a criminal offence, the Court held, amounts to an abuse of the process of law, and quashed the FIR and the proceedings in full.
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