LI Network
Published on: December 08, 2023 at 16:10 IST
The Supreme Court has asserted that a condition compelling a husband to resume conjugal life with his wife cannot be imposed while granting anticipatory bail under Section 498A of the IPC.
The matter came before a Division Bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma.
The accused husband, who had sought anticipatory bail from the High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi Bench, faced a peculiar condition. The High Court, while granting bail, directed the husband to take his wife to his residence in Ranchi’s Bandra locality and maintain her with dignity and honor.
In response, the husband sought modification of the order, explaining that he had rented a separate house and was prepared to support his wife. Conversely, the wife expressed her willingness to resume marital life if her husband returned to their own residence. The High Court, noting the husband’s refusal to resume conjugal life at their shared home, dismissed his plea.
Subsequently, the matter reached the Supreme Court, which categorically stated that imposing such a condition during the grant of anticipatory bail was inappropriate.
The Court emphasized that this condition should not serve as a basis for rejecting the husband’s petition.
The Court’s opinion was clear: “In our opinion, neither such condition should have been imposed by the High Court while granting anticipatory bail, nor such could be a ground for rejection of the petition filed by the appellant.”
Case Title: Kunal Choudhary vs. The State of Jharkhand.