The Karnataka High Court ruled that a wife cannot be charged with extortion for seeking maintenance if the court grants it. The court also quashed a cruelty case filed by the wife against her husband, citing a lack of evidence.
No Extortion in Maintenance Proceedings
Justice M. Nagaprasanna ruled in favor of a wife who sought to quash a complaint filed by her husband under Sections 420, 406, 403, 109, 384, and 34 of the IPC. The husband accused her of extorting money and filing a false affidavit to claim ₹1 crore in maintenance.
The court stated:
“There cannot be an offence of extortion when the wife initiates legal proceedings for maintenance, and the court grants it. The husband is legally bound to pay unless modified by a higher court.”
The bench also dismissed cheating and criminal breach of trust charges. The ruling is that no party lured the other into any fraudulent act.
Cruelty Complaint Quashed Due to Lack of Evidence
The court also quashed the wife’s cruelty complaint against the husband under Section 498A of the IPC. The wife claimed she discovered intimidating messages and evidence of illicit relationships on her husband’s old phone in June 2020. However, she filed the complaint three years later, in October 2023, without explaining the delay.
The husband argued that the complaint was a misuse of the law and was filed only after failed negotiations over permanent alimony and child custody. The wife contended that mental cruelty also falls under Section 498A, but the court found no evidence of cruelty linked to dowry demands.
Court’s Final Ruling
The extortion case against the wife was dismissed.
The cruelty case against the husband was quashed.
The court reaffirmed that maintenance claims are legal and cannot be considered extortion.
