498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022- Calcutta High Court- False Allegations found against the Husband. F.I.R Quashed.
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| 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022 |
498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022- In this article, Calcutta High Court held that false allegations found against the husband do not disclose the commission of the offense alleged and make out a case against the husband. The wife has not properly explained the delay in raising a criminal proceeding, so she is not entitled to get benefit according to section 473 of Cr. P. C. The wife was well aware of the allegation at the time of initiation of a civil proceeding, but she kept quiet, and the entire facts, circumstances of the case, and material on record show that criminal proceedings initiated by the wife are, manifestly attended with malafide intention to fulfill her personal grudge. Therefore, criminal proceeding against the husband is hereby quashed.
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Case Brief- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
According to the facts mentioned in the complaint filed by the wife, the marriage between the wife and her husband was solemnized on 25.04.2012 under the Special Marriage Act.
It is stated that there were disputes between the wife and her husband regarding their matrimonial life, and the wife left her matrimonial home on 22.09.2012.
It is also stated that a settlement between the wife and her husband in presence of their relatives was arrived at to minimize the dispute, but all became futile.
Case Brief- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
It is further stated that a divorce suit was filed before the District Court, Alipore, by the husband and the wife contested the said suit, and the divorce decree was passed on 4.08.2015.
The marriage between the wife and her husband was dissolved by a decree of nullity according to the provisions of Section 25(1)(i) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the ground taken by the husband was that the marriage was never consummated between them.
It is also stated that since 29.09.2012, the wife was residing separately at her father’s house and the wife filed the complaint dated 07.01.2017 at the Police Station under Sections 498A, 406, and 34 of IPC against the husband.
The police investigated the said complaint, collected some stridhan articles from the husband's house, and submitted a chargesheet against the husband.
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Arguments- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
The advocate appearing on behalf of the husband submitted that the wife left her matrimonial house on 22.09.2012 and the instant complaint was filed on 07.01.2017 which is beyond the period of limitation and cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.
He also submitted that the mother-in-law of the wife died much before the filing of the complaint, but the wife had no knowledge regarding her matrimonial home and its affairs and filed a false complaint against the dead person.
He further submitted that the marriage between the wife and her husband was declared by the court of competent jurisdiction to be nullity thus, filing of a complaint on the basis of the said marriage is baseless. And the instant criminal proceeding is only false fictitious and harrasive, so it cannot be allowed to be continued.
Arguments- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
Therefore, he prayed for the quashing of the criminal proceedings and the F.I.R filed by the wife against her husband.
On the other hand, the advocate appearing on behalf of the wife submitted that the wife was subjected to physical and mental cruelty at her matrimonial home, and she had to leave her matrimonial home to save her life.
He also submitted that the stridhan articles were kept by the husband and only received by her after filing of the instant proceedings and some stridhan articles also remained in the custody of the husband till today. And the decree passed by the civil court was stayed by the High Court.
Arguments- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
On the point of limitation, the advocate argued that according to section 469 of Cr. P. C, the period of limitation is three years and according to section 470 of Cr. P. C, there is an exclusion of time in certain cases.
He stated that in the present case, the limitation commenced only on December 2013, when the wife came to know about the filing of the divorce suit. The wife was engaged in seeking relief in civil litigation, so in this case, the time occupied for civil proceedings needs to be excluded.
He further stated that the offense punishable under section 406 of IPC is a continuing offense and in case of a continuing offense, there shall be no limitation for filing cases according to the provisions of section 472 of Cr. P. C.
Arguments- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
He also stated that in this case, the wife is entitled to have the extension of the period of limitation as per section 473 of Cr. P. C because in this type of case filed under section 498A/406 IPC the wife is entitled to have, such an extension.
He further argued that the wife was treated with cruelty at her matrimonial home, for which the instant criminal proceeding has been initiated and the investigation of the police ended in the chargesheet. At this juncture, the prima facie offense against the husband has been proved, thus he prayed that the instant proceeding cannot be quashed.
The advocate appearing on behalf of the State submitted that the chargesheet has been filed, and the criminal case is otherwise ready for trial. At this juncture, the grievances of the husband can be easily ventilated before the Magistrate by taking part in the trial.
Therefore, he prayed that criminal proceedings against the husband cannot be allowed to be quashed.
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Referred Judgements- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
- Krishna Bhattacharjee Vs. Sarathi Chowdhury
- Inderjit Singh Grewal Vs. State of Punjab
- Arun Vyas Vs. Anita Vyas
- Vanka Radhamanohari Vs. Vanka Venkata Reddy
- Rashmi Kumar Vs. Mahesh Kumar Bhada
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
It is stated that in quashing a criminal proceeding initiated under section 498A and 406 of IPC by applying the inherent power of the court under section 482 Cr. P. C. it is necessary to look into the entire criminal proceeding, which is based on the FIR and strengthened by the chargesheet.
It is also stated that in the present case, the allegations made in the F.I.R as well as the material collected during the investigation, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety, do not prima facie constitute the offenses punishable under section 498A and 406 of IPC against the husband.
It is further stated that uncontroverted allegations found against the husband do not disclose the commission of the offense alleged and make out a case against the husband. So, the proceedings initiated against the husband are liable to be quashed.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
It is also stated that the FIR has lodged after three years and no such satisfactory explanation has advanced on behalf of the wife that’s why the delay is caused, and the wife was well aware about the allegation at the time of initiation of the civil proceeding, but she kept quiet.
It further appears that the wife lodged the complaint after the disposal of the divorce suit, and the wife and her husband admitted that their marriage was not consummated.
It is also observed that the delay has not been properly explained by the wife, so she is not entitled to get benefits according to section 473 of Cr. P. C.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
In view of the above discussion, the court held that after considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case and materials on record from either side, it appears that the criminal proceeding initiated by the wife is manifestly attended with malafide intention with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the husband to fulfill her personal grudge.
Therefore, the criminal proceeding initiated against the husband by the wife at the police station under section 498A/406 of IPC is hereby quashed.
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Conclusion- 498A Quashing after Divorce 29.09.2022
In this article, Calcutta high court held that the criminal proceeding initiated by the wife is manifestly attended with malafide intention with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the husband to fulfill her personal grudge.
It was also held that the wife was well aware about the allegation at the time of initiation of the civil proceeding, but she kept quiet, and the delay has not been properly explained by the wife, so she is not entitled to get benefit according to the section 473 of Cr. P. C.
Therefore, F.I.R against the petitioner is hereby quashed.
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