Man Calling Wife ‘Bhoot’, ‘Pisach’ Is Not Cruelty: Patna High Court

Patna: In an interesting observation, the Patna High Court said an estranged couple using “filthy language” and calling each other names like “bhoot” (ghost) and “pisachi” (vampire) does not tantamount to cruelty.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhuri made the remark while hearing a petition filed by Sahdeo Gupta and his son Naresh Kumar Gupta, residents of Jharkhand’s Bokaro, reported PTI.

The father-son duo challenged an order passed by a district court in Bihar on a complaint filed by Naresh Gupta’s divorced wife in her native place Nawada.

In a case dating back to 1994, the complainant had accused her husband and father-in-law of physical and material torture to press for the demand for a car in dowry.

The case was later transferred to Nalanda upon a prayer by the father and son, who were sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment in 2008. Their appeal before the Additional Sessions Court was rejected 10 years later.

The couple was granted divorce by Jharkhand High Court.

Opposing the petition filed before Patna High Court, the divorced woman’s advocate pleaded that “a lady in the 21st century was called bhoot and pishach by her in-laws, which was a form of immense cruelty.”

However, the court observed that it was not in a position to accept such an argument.

“In matrimonial relations, especially in failed matrimonial relations, there have been instances of both the husband and wife having abused each other with filthy language. However, all such accusations do not come within the veil of cruelty,” the judge said.

The high court noted that the woman had been “harassed and brutally tortured by all accused persons.” but there were “no specific, distinct allegations against either petitioner.”

The judgements passed by the lower courts were, accordingly, quashed.