In a notable judgment, the Bombay High Court has quashed an FIR involving an accusation of assault where human teeth were claimed to be used as a dangerous weapon. The case arose from an incident where a woman alleged that during a scuffle, her sister-in-law bit her, leading to charges under serious sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Sanjay Deshmukh of the Aurangabad bench delivered the verdict on April 4, stating that human teeth do not constitute a dangerous weapon as defined under section 324 of the IPC, which pertains to causing hurt using a weapon likely to cause serious harm or death.
The FIR, lodged in April 2020, detailed that the complainant was bitten by her sister-in-law during an altercation, categorizing the human teeth used in the incident as a dangerous weapon. The accused were subsequently booked for causing harm with dangerous weapons, among other charges.
However, the court found that the medical certificates presented only evidenced simple hurt caused by teeth marks, which does not meet the legal threshold of harm intended under section 324 of the IPC. The judges emphasized that continuing the prosecution in this case would constitute an abuse of the legal process, as the requisite elements of the alleged offense were not satisfied.
Additionally, the court noted that there seems to be an underlying property dispute between the parties, which may have influenced the circumstances of the conflict.
