A man has been acquitted of the charges of harassing and trying to murder his wife by a Delhi court which said the couple's matrimonial disputes attained finality as they got divorced over three years ago and no useful purpose would be served by "flogging a dead horse".
"Taaruf rog ban jaye to usko bhulna behtar, Taaluk bojh ban jaye to usko torna achcha (Better to forget an acquaintance who becomes a pain, better to break a relation which becomes a burden)," Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said invoking a couplet by poet Sahir Ludhianvi in her judgement.
The court said it was necessary for the 33-year-old woman and the man to realise that they need to move on in life by leaving behind their past and bitter memories.
"Lastly keeping in view the fact that all other disputes between the complainant woman and the accused man relating to their matrimonial life have attained finality by way of their divorce decree dated June 9, 2010, no useful purpose would be served by flogging a dead horse....
"With these observations, I acquit the man of the charges under Sections 498-A (husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC as the prosecution has failed to establish the same beyond reasonable doubt," the judge said.
The court's order came in a case in which the man, a resident of Pitampura here, was earlier acquitted by a magisterial court of the charges of harassing his wife and treating her cruelly.
Thereafter, the couple, who had got married in 2002, got divorced in 2010 but the case came to the sessions court when a pending criminal revision petition was allowed in April, 2013 after which provisions of attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and harassing the woman were slapped on him. The case was reopened again.
This was much after all matrimonial matters between the parties were put to rest, ASJ Lau noted.
