Wife left home, file divorce on cruelty

1. It is her stridhan. Your act of going to her home and taking away her stridhan is a grave act under Civil as well as Criminal Family Laws. 
2. In my opinion she has filed half case upon you. She also has right to file a S. 406 IPC criminal case upon you. 
Reasoning: 
Understand the concept as well as Civil and Criminal Law which are briefed out as below;

S. 27 HMA says that in any proceeding under this Act, the Court may make such provisions in the decree as it thinks just and proper with respect to any property presented, at or about the time of marriage, which may belong jointly to both the husband and the wife.

Refusal by husband to return the gift items given to wife at the time of marriage makes the husband liable for prosecution. The section does not bar the right of the aggrieved person to file criminal complaint under S. 406 I.P.C., if property belonging to the complainant is criminally misappropriated by the accused. The section empowers a Court while deciding a matrimonial dispute to also pass a decree in respect of property, which may jointly belong to both the husband and wife. This section at best provides a civil remedy to an aggrieved wife and does not in any way take away her right to file a criminal complaint if the property belonging to her is criminally misappropriated by her husband. 

 

The gifts made to the girl before, during and after the marriage by the father, mother and brother present-in-law of the girl are the part of the Stridhan.

[Last reply]

Thanks for the reply.

The jewelry is something gifted by us. She left the house with intention of not coming back. 6 months later, I went and requested her to comeback. When she refused to return. I took only the jewelry that my family had gifted her.

Shouldn't the court look at her act of leaving matrimonial home for considerable period a reason. She had no reason to take jewelry to her fathers home in first place.

Had she returned to my house , she would have found the jewelry in the locker at home.

You dont accept tht u took away the jewels....tht wd mk u liabke for prosecution aptly said by experts above. On the contarary u say that wife assured of rejoining and herself handed the stridhan to be kept in safe deposit locker in bank. You keep it in locker stating locker no etc. Also you can state that this act was falsely implicated to trap u in cr. And civil cases thereby inflicting mental cruelty upon u. U interrsted in matrimony and not divorce and its wife's desertion and not ur neglect. Weaken her case Will help in mcd settlement