Who doesn’t love French fries, but is that enough to sue someone legally? Apparently yes! In a bizarre incident in Bengaluru, a woman levelled allegations of cruelty against her US-based husband for allegedly not allowing her to eat French fries.
Thankfully, the Karnataka High Court has temporarily halted the investigation and granted the husband’s request to travel back to the US.
According to a Times of India report, the wife, who was not identified, lodged a complaint under Sections 498A and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Dowry Prohibition Act. Consequently, the police issued a lookout circular (LOC) against the man, impeding his return to the United States for employment purposes.
In a detailed order issued on Thursday, Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka HC granted the husband’s request to travel back to the US and stayed the LOC until the next hearing on September 21. The judge also permitted the husband to leave the country after reviewing his affidavit.
In the affidavit, the husband assured of his availability for future investigation.
According to the TOI report, the wife alleged that following her childbirth, which was complicated by high blood pressure, her husband limited her consumption of French fries, rice, and meat due to concerns about weight gain. In response, the husband asserted that he took on all household chores and daily responsibilities while his wife devoted much of her time to watching television and making phone calls.
In his ruling, Justice Nagaprasanna observed that the complaint failed to establish any acts of cruelty as outlined in Section 498A of the IPC. He further stressed that permitting the investigation to continue would amount to a misuse of the legal system.
As a result, the judge instructed the police to notify the Bureau of Immigration regarding the travel plans and to ensure that the husband would not be subjected to any travel constraints.
“It is rather surprising how jurisdictional police have used the power for getting an LOC generated in the aforesaid trivial circumstances. It is not the use of power by police but misuse of power at the behest of the complainant,” Justice Nagaprasanna was quoted as saying by TOI.
“There is no crime worth the name of issuance of LOC. The only object of the complainant appears to be stopping the petitioner from travelling back to his employment in the US,” he added.