Patna High Court made important clarification. symbolic picture
Law correspondent, Patna. Patna High Court has said in one of its important decisions that in case of unnatural death of a married woman, her brother, being the legal heir, will also fall in the category of 'victim' and he can become a party in the criminal appeal.
The division bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhary and Justice Dr. Anshuman passed this order in Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 1486/2025.
The matter is related to Shekhpura police station case number 657/2023. The deceased was seriously injured by the bullet. Initially, Section 307 IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act were imposed in the FIR lodged by husband Manoj Kumar, but later after his death, Section 302 IPC was added.
Court sentenced life imprisonment to husband
During the investigation, the police filed a charge sheet considering the husband as the accused. In session case number 10/2024, on 8 August 2025, the trial court convicted the accused husband under section 302 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The husband filed an appeal before the High Court against the conviction. In the said appeal, the brother of the deceased filed an intervention petition and demanded to be made a party, calling himself a 'victim'.
Brother had called himself a victim
Senior advocate Ajay Kumar Thakur, appearing for the appellant, argued that the brother is neither a guardian nor a legal heir, hence he cannot be given the status of a victim.
Citing Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the division bench said that the brother of a married woman falls in the category of statutory heir.
The court, while accepting the intervention petition, directed to add the brother's name as respondent no. 2 in the appeal and ordered for expeditious listing of the case.
High court quashes dowry harassment case against mother-in-law
In an important case related to dowry harassment, Patna High Court has canceled the criminal proceedings against the mother-in-law.
The single bench of Judge Saurendra Pandey passed this order while hearing the Criminal Miscellaneous No. 140/2025.
The matter is of Aurangabad district
The matter is related to Aurangabad Mahila Police Station case number 61/2023. Complainant Simran Kumari had alleged that Rs 30 lakh in cash, jewelery and other items was given at the time of marriage on June 28, 2023.
Despite this, husband Sunny Kumar and mother-in-law Sumitra Devi demanded a motorcycle and a diamond ring. When the demands were not met, allegations of assault, abuse and harassment were made.
After investigation, the police had filed a charge sheet under sections 341, 323, 498A, 504, 506, 34 of the IPC and section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, of which the lower court took cognizance.
The argument of being implicated was given by the mother-in-law
It was argued on behalf of the petitioner mother-in-law that there are only general and vague allegations against her and she has been implicated due to marital dispute.
At the same time, the allegations were described as serious by the opposition. Citing the Supreme Court decision (Dara Lakshmi Narayan vs. State of Telangana), the High Court said that in matrimonial disputes, it is not justified to drag other family members into prosecution on the basis of general allegations.
The court found that there was a lack of concrete and specific evidence against the petitioner. On this basis, the court accepted the petition by canceling the cognizance order taken on April 2, 2024 in the context of Sumitra Devi.
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