New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed concern over a growing trend of filing criminal cases against a husband’s relatives as a form of retaliation during family disputes.
The observation came while hearing an appeal from Maharashtra involving a divorced couple from Pune. A family court had earlier ruled that the couple’s twin children could continue to live under the father’s care, while granting the mother visitation rights.
Subsequently, the mother lodged a police complaint alleging that the boy was sexually abused by his paternal aunt, leading to registration of a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. After the Bombay High Court declined to quash the case, the matter reached the Supreme Court.
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran noted that no such allegations were raised at the time of the mutual-consent divorce in 2023 or earlier. The bench also pointed out that the sexual complaint was filed within hours after the husband lodged a police complaint against the wife’s relatives.
Finding no credibility in the FIR and noting that the child’s statement recorded before a judicial magistrate did not indicate sexual abuse, the court held there was no basis to proceed. It directed that no action be taken against the aunt under POCSO and quashed the case, warning that children are sometimes used as tools in such retaliatory litigation.
