‘Inherently improbable’: Patna High Court quashes cruelty case against in-laws who never lived with bride

Patna High Court News: The Patna High Court has observed that allegations of cruelty against in-laws become “inherently improbable” in the absence of meaningful interaction or a shared household and quashed criminal proceedings against the estranged husband’s relatives.

Justice Rudra Prakash Mishra allowed a plea challenging a cognisance order passed by a judicial magistrate in January 2025 for various offences including cruelty and quashed proceedings against three relatives of the man.

“Cruelty, in the context of matrimonial offences, presupposes a degree of proximity, interaction, or cohabitation that enables harassment or ill-treatment. In the absence of any shared residence or meaningful interaction, the allegation of cruelty by the in-laws becomes inherently improbable,” the court said on January 19.

Vineet Upadhyay is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express Read More