Overview

• The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition challenging the trial court’s discharge of a husband and his relatives from dowry harassment and cruelty charges under Section 498A of the IPC.
• Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that the woman’s tears, recorded in a Section 161 Cr.P.C. statement by her sister, do not constitute prima facie proof of harassment.
• The post-mortem report attributing the woman’s 2014 death to pneumonia was central to the courts’ finding that no cruelty leading to death had occurred.
• Prosecutors claimed nearly ₹4 lakh in wedding expenses followed by demands for a motorcycle, cash and a gold bracelet; those allegations lacked documentary proof or specific incidents.
• The judgment underscores the high evidentiary threshold at the discharge stage, requiring medical findings alongside corroborative evidence beyond emotive testimony.