Reported By: Ankita Bhardwaj

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh in a Dowry Death held that a mother-in-law asking her daughter-in-law to be perfect in doing household work would not amount to cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and said that “A married lady being told by her mother-in-law that she required more perfection in doing or attending household work can never be said to be cruelty or harassment among family members. Praise or comment with reference to the work that was being done is a common factor in any household. It is no one’s case that she was either abused or physically beaten for her imperfections in doing household work.”

The court was hearing an appeal filed by a mother and her son who were convicted under charges of the dowry death of the daughter-in-law. The victim died within 8 months of her marriage.

It was contended by the complainant that their daughter was subjected to cruelty within eight months of her marriage. The contention was however rejected by the Court and it was stated that mere demand for dowry by itself cannot be considered as cruelty unless failure to comply with the demand is visited with cruelty.

In its order, the bench noted that the material placed on record fell short to convict the appellants under charges of dowry death. The bench further observed that there was never an incident of any of the accused sending away the deceased from the house nor the deceased rushing away from the matrimonial home and reaching her mother and brother complaining of any trouble to her by the accused. 

Therefore, the bench quashed the conviction of the accused.