Wife not liable if living with husband during crime, rules Karnataka High Court

By Vinaykumar Patil | First Published Nov 9, 2024, 1:25 PM IST

The Karnataka High Court ruled that a wife cannot be made a co-accused simply for residing with her husband engaged in criminal acts. Dismissing RK Bhatt’s petition to implicate Shanti Roach, wife of Norbert D'Souza, the court emphasized that cohabitation does not establish guilt.

The Karnataka High Court has clarified that a wife cannot be considered a co-accused merely for residing with her husband who is involved in criminal activities. This clarification came from a bench led by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, which dismissed a petition filed by complainant RK Bhatt, who sought to have Norbert D'Souza’s wife, Shanti Roach, made a co-accused in a case involving the illegal production and sale of fake liquor.

The case revolves around Norbert D'Souza, a resident of Bantwala taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, who was allegedly involved in manufacturing and selling counterfeit liquor in his backyard. Acting on reliable information, the police searched, leading to the filing of a case against D'Souza. Bhatt, the complainant, argued that D'Souza’s wife, Shanti, had full knowledge of her husband’s activities and allegedly assisted him, thus seeking her inclusion as an accused in the case.

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The counsel for Bhatt argued that since Shanti Roach lived in the same house as her husband, she likely aided in the production and distribution of the illegal liquor and had full knowledge of her husband’s actions. Based on these grounds, he sought a court directive to make her a co-accused.

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However, Justice Nagaprasanna’s bench rejected this argument, ruling that mere cohabitation does not make a wife criminally liable for her husband’s actions. The bench emphasized that the wife cannot be implicated simply because she lives in the same residence as the accused. It upheld that her presence in the home does not establish guilt, stating, "The wife cannot be implicated merely for cohabiting with her husband involved in the crime."

Following the subordinate court’s rejection of Bhatt’s application to include Shanti Roach as an accused, he appealed to the High Court for reconsideration. However, the High Court upheld the lower court’s decision and dismissed Bhatt’s plea.

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