New Delhi: On Tuesday, the Supreme court ruled that a woman, who is driven out of her matrimonial home because of cruelty, can file a case against her estranged husband and in-laws at the place of her shelter or place of her parents where she resides. The top court said that the woman who is forced to leave her in-laws home is allowed to initiate criminal proceedings under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

To be noted that this Supreme Court judgement settled a long-debated issue regarding the place of filing a case under section 498A. Previously, the criminal proceedings could only be initiated by the complainant from the place where the offence took place.

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What is Section 498A in The Indian Penal Code?

Section 498A states that "Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be sentenced with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine."

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi said that a woman, who is forcefully driven out of her matrimonial house, has liberty to lodge a complaint under section 498A and initiate proceeding from the place where she sought shelter.

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