New Delhi, May 26 -- The Supreme Court on Monday said that in matrimonial disputes, relatives of the husband cannot be fastened with criminal liability if they fail to intervene or ask the wife to adjust in the matrimonial relationship without there being any evidence to show their active complicity in the crime. Deciding a case from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, a bench of justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh set aside proceedings under dowry harassment and domestic violence against four members of a family who were dragged in criminal cases by the wife for supporting the husband's actions in abusing and demanding dowry from her. The bench said, "While safeguarding the rights and dignity of victims of domestic violence remains of paramount importance, courts are simultaneously required to ensure that the rigours of criminal law are not indiscriminately extended to every member of the family without a clear factual foundation." The court was deciding a petition filed by the mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and his wife who appealed against the decision by MP high court's Gwalior bench in November 2024 which sustained the charges. "In prosecutions arising out of matrimonial disputes, the allegations against each accused must be specific, distinct and supported by prima facie material indicating active involvement in the alleged acts of cruelty, " the SC said....