Karnataka High Court Quashes Husband’s Complaint of Black Magic Against Wife
Last Updated on August 22, 2024 by Athi Venkatesh
In a recent judgment, the Karnataka High Court quashed a husband’s complaint against his wife, which alleged that she intended to murder him and his mother through black magic. Justice M. Nagaprasanna, presiding over a single judge bench, ruled in favor of the wife, dismissing the complaint and the subsequent order for further investigation issued by a Magistrate court. The complaint had been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017.
The case originated from a private complaint lodged by the husband on February 21, 2023. He accused his wife and her friend of conspiring to kill him and his mother using black magic, based on WhatsApp chats between them. The Magistrate had referred the complaint for investigation under Section 156(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), leading to the registration of an FIR.
However, the court found that the complaint lacked substance and reflected a clear misuse of legal procedures. Justice Nagaprasanna emphasized that the Magistrate had erred by referring the matter for investigation without proper application of mind, which is essential to prevent frivolous cases. The court criticized the husband’s complaint as a retaliatory move, made in response to a dowry harassment case his wife had previously filed against him.
The court further noted that the alleged thefts, which the husband claimed were linked to the black magic plot, had occurred in 2020 and 2021, while the complaint was filed in 2023. The court found no credible evidence to support the husband’s claims of black magic or theft.
In its analysis, the court observed that the Black Magic Act requires the performance of an act, which was absent in this case. The vague and speculative nature of the WhatsApp chats provided no basis for invoking the Act.
While the court quashed the prosecution against the wife, it allowed the continuation of proceedings against the husband in the dowry harassment case. However, the court did dismiss the complaint against the mother-in-law.
