Patna High Court prescribed this punishment for judicial officers who wrongly subjected man to trial for cruelty

The Patna High Court recently directed two judicial officers to provide compensation of ₹100 each to a man who endured an unfair trial after being booked under Section 498A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..Justice Bibek Chaudhuri observed, “As the petitioner was made to suffer a criminal trial which is not maintainable against him and he was compelled to be confined in the correctional home at different points of time. This Court is of the opinion that the petitioner should be compensated since the petitioner was made to suffer the agony and trauma of a criminal trial as well as detention in custody for taking cognizance against him by the learned Magistrate and putting him in trial in a case which is not maintainable against him.”.The case concerned claims of harassment and cruelty against a man who was not a relative of the complainant woman's husband. As per Section 498A of the IPC, only the husband of a woman and his relatives are liable to be made accused in cruelty cases.The man filed a revision plea in the High Court challenging the judgment and order issued by the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) at Samastipur.The ASJ had upheld a trial court verdict which convicted the revisionist under Sections 498A of the IPC and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, sentencing him to three years of imprisonment and imposing a fine of ₹1,000..Without delving into the merits of the case or the rulings of the lower courts, the High Court noted that the revisionist was not a relative of the complainant woman's husband, but merely an advisor to other individuals accused in the cruelty case filed by the woman.The Court expressed that the man deserved compensation as he had endured the anguish and trauma of a criminal trial, including detention in custody. This, after the magistrate took cognisance against him and initiated a trial in a case that was not sustainable."The petitioner is entitled to get compensation at the rate of Rs. 100/- each payable by the learned Judicial Magistrate, namely Sri Ramanand Ram SDJM Dalsingsarai- Samastipur and Hanuman Prasad Tiwari," the order stated..It went on to state,"The amount of compensation is fixed as a token to remind the concerned Judicial Officers that before taking cognizance and also during judicial inquiry and trial, it is the bounden and obligatory duty of all the courts to go through the complaint carefully and then to take cognizance and proceed against the accused persons in accordance with law.".The Court directed both judicial officers to deposit the fine amount in the Criminal Cash Section of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Samastipur within three weeks..Advocate Chandra Mauli Chaurasia appeared for the revisionist.APP Sunil Kumar Pandey appeared for respondent..[Read Order]