CASTE & MARRIAGE

HC to decide woman’s caste abuse case against hubby



Shibu Thomas | TNN



Mumbai: Can a woman born into, what is called a ‘‘lower caste’’, and who marries an upper caste man file a case against her husband and inlaws under Special Atrocities Act? A full bench of Bombay high court will now decide on the vexed issue.
The matter was placed before a larger bench following conflicting views of two benches of HC. The case concerned a complaint filed by a woman
belonging to Scheduled Caste, who married Rajendra Shrivastava (a Kayastha, an upper caste) in 1991.
She filed a case against her husband and in-laws last year at Nehru Nagar police station under Atrocities Act for treating her cruelly. She alleged her husband and inlaws ‘‘from time to time, abused her in filthy language in the name of her caste’’.
The Shrivastavas moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail. One bench of the court granted anticipatory bail to Shirvastava’s brother and sister ruling that the provisions of the special law could not be applied.
But, another bench of Justice Dilip Bhosale disagreed and the matter was referred to the full bench.