Supreme Court allows women to file complaint from anywhere if tortured at in-laws place

April 9: In the backdrop of ever increasing crime and violence against women, the Supreme Court has come up with a landmark judgement. On Tuesday, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that a woman, who is forcefully moved out of her matrimonial home, has the liberty to lodge a complaint under 498A and initiate proceedings from any place she was residing in – be it a temporary arrangement or from the residence of her parents.

Earlier, criminal proceedings could only be initiated by complainant from the place where the offence took place. Before this judgement,the law specified that criminal proceedings could only be initiated by complainant from the place where the offence took place.

That means from now onwards, a woman, who is forced to leave her in-laws home, can file a case against her estranged husband and in-laws at the place where she resides thereafter.