Allahabad HC Orders 'Cooling Period' in Matrimonial Case, Calls FIR 'Soft Porn'

The court said no arrest should be made before the end of a two-month "cooling period" in marital cruelty cases.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday, 13 June, directed that in cases of marital discord filed under Section 498A of the IPC (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), no arrest should be made before the expiry of two-month "cooling period."

Hearing a case under the charges of cruelty, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, and voluntarily causing hurt, Justice Rahul Chaturvedi also criticised the language used by the complainant in the First Information Report (FIR), wherein she has described the sexual assault and other atrocities perpetrated against her by her husband's family.

"The language of the FIR should be a decent one and no amount of atrocities faced by the informant would justify her to use such type of caustic expression. FIR/complaint is the gateway of any criminal case and decent expression would well communicate the alleged atrocities faced by her. It is not soft porn literature where graphic descriptions should be made."

Allahabad High Court