Karnataka HC stays probe against man accused of cruelty for denying wife French fries

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The Karnataka High Court (HC) has temporarily halted the investigation into a case involving a man accused of preventing his wife from eating French fries after the birth of their child in the United States (US).

Justice M. Nagaprasanna deemed the allegations against the man as trivial and decided to stay the investigation.

In his ruling, Justice Nagaprasanna stated that continuing the investigation would constitute an abuse of the legal process.

"Proceeding with any investigation against the husband would be an abuse of the legal system, effectively endorsing the wife's allegation that she was denied French fries at a particular time. Therefore, an interim order is issued to stay all investigations related to the husband," he said.

The court also granted the man, who is employed in the US, permission to return to his job, following his assurance that he would cooperate with the authorities and not evade the legal process.

The man had filed a petition seeking to halt the investigation, arguing that the complaint was baseless.

His lawyer highlighted that a Look Out Circular (LOC) had been issued against him, preventing him from returning to his work in the US, based on his wife's complaint.

Previously, the court had also stayed the investigation against the man's parents, who were co-accused in the case.

The man's wife had filed a complaint alleging that he had prevented her from eating French fries, rice, and meat shortly after their child was born. In response, the man claimed that during their time in the US before the child's birth, his wife had made him handle all the household chores.

Justice Nagaprasanna criticized the use of the LOC in this case, describing it as an abuse of the legal system. He concluded that the complaint appeared frivolous and allowed the man to return to the US to fulfill his professional obligations.

In a similar case, the Bombay High Court had ruled that allegations of ill-treatment by a man against his own family members do not fall under the ambit of cruelty against a woman in her matrimonial home and dismissed a case against her in-laws.

(With ANI inputs)