No Cruelty

A woman died of burn injuries within two years of marriage. Section 113A of the Evidence Act says that if a wife commits suicide within seven years of marriage and a question arises as to whether the husband and/or his relatives have subjected her to cruelty, the court presumes that the suicide was abetted by the husband and/or his relatives. And so the woman’s husband and his mother were convicted. When the accused appealed at the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the appeal was dismissed. They then went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the woman was unhappy being an illiterate man’s wife and did not get along with her mother-in-law. It added that the evidence of the man beating up his wife seemed exaggerated as the woman’s father did not mention any acts of cruelty. The accused were acquitted. (Rajbabu and another vs State of Madhya Pradesh)

Guilty as charged

The legal representatives of the driver and the pillion rider of a motor cycle, who both died in an accident, applied for compensation. The owner of the offending vehicle — a mini truck — said that since the vehicle was insured, the insurance company was to pay the damage. The company resisted the claim, saying that the driver of the truck had a driving licence for only light motor vehicles. It added that since neither the truck driver nor the motor cyclist had valid licences, it was not liable to indemnify. The tribunal reduced the compensation, saying that the accident was the result of negligence on both sides. When the representatives went to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, it enhanced the compensation, stating that there was no proof of actual negligence. (Vidya Soni vs Pushpesh Dwivedi)

Mother care

After divorce, a man applied for the custody of his two minor children who lived with their mother. The trial court directed the mother to hand over the children to him, saying that he would give them better education. When the mother appealed at the Uttarakhand High Court, the court set aside the order, saying that the children did not want to live with the father and that even within the mother’s limited means, they were getting a good education. (Smt. Sudesh vs Additional Family Court Judge)

SOLON