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News Topical, Digital Desk : The Kerala High Court has refused to interfere with a lower court's decision which held a husband guilty under Section 498A (harassing wife) and dowry case and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment.
On November 27, 2025, the Kerala High Court ruled that the lack of independent witnesses in 498A cases does not weaken the case. The evidence of close relatives cannot be dismissed simply because they are relatives of the wife.
What did the Kerala High Court say?
The Kerala High Court has held that the absence of independent witnesses in cases falling under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code does not, in itself, weaken the prosecution's case. The court stressed that the evidence of close relatives should not be ignored merely because of their relationship to the victim.
What did the prosecution argue?
The prosecution argued that the accused, who is the husband of the original complainant (wife), subjected her to cruelty and harassed her mentally and physically by continuously demanding dowry, thus committing an offence under Section 498A of the IPC.
To support its case, the prosecution called 10 witnesses (PW-1 to 10) and submitted Exts. P1 to P5. Following the presentation of the prosecution evidence, the accused husband was questioned under Section 313(1)(b) of the Cr.P.C. The accused husband stated his innocence but failed to provide any evidence in his defense.
Read More: Tied to a pole, dragged by hair... Why did the in-laws in Andhra Pradesh torture their son-in-law?
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