Directs police to drop proceedings against elderly parents of a man entangled in matrimonial dispute with his wife
Srinagar: The J&K High Court has held that criminal proceedings cannot be used as a tool of harassment for settling matrimonial disputes and directed the police to drop proceedings against the elderly parents of a man trapped in a broil with his wife.
In an extraordinary judgment of its kind, Justice Rajnesh Oswal said “it is settled law that criminal proceedings cannot be used as a tool of harassment for settling the matrimonial dispute”.
The judgment was delivered in a writ petition filed by 80-years-old Subash Chander Leekha, his wife, and two grandchildren from his son Shashi Leekha of Karan Nagar, Jammu.
The petitioners petitioned that the charge-sheet of a 2017 FIR registered against them with Police Station, Gandhi Nagar (Jammu), at the instance of Satinder Kour, wife of their son Shashi Leekha, be quashed.
The charge-sheet related to commission of offences under Section 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
According to the judgment, Shashi Leekha came into contact with Satinder Kour through a matrimonial site. The couple solemnized their marriage at Arya Samaj Mandir, Jammu, but the petitioners — elderly Leekhas and the children from the first wife of their son Shashi Lekha — did not participate in the marriage ceremony.
After solemnization of the marriage, Shashi Leekha and the respondent Satinder Kour started residing at Karan Nagar, Jammu, in the petitioner’s house.
Kour stayed with the petitioners for five months from February 2015 till October 2015. The lady left her in-laws as the relationship started showing cracks. “She left for her maternal home without any reason for she lacked concern towards her husband and other family members,” say the petitioners.
“She was approached by the petitioners to return to her matrimonial home but she and her mother flatly rejected the request,” their petition said.
She, however, agreed to join her husband only on the condition that he would reside with her at her parental house at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, and would leave his old parents and children from the first marriage, said the elderly petitioners.
They said the condition was agreed upon. However, on December 26, 2016, Kour allegedly thrashed husband Leekha and hit his left eye with some blunt weapon. The eye was injured and the man underwent a major surgery.
“After beating her husband, she locked him in a room for whole night without any food and water and the next morning, he somehow managed to inform his father (i.e. the petitioner No. 1) telephonically about the whole episode and requested his father to get him released from confinement,” said the petition.
The elderly Leekhas accordingly acted and lodged a report with the police.
Kour countered the statement of her in-laws and said that her husband and in-laws beat her, tortured her and demanded a huge dowry from her. She filed a complaint against her in-laws which the police took cognisance of and charge-sheeted them.
Justice Oswal after hearing the litigants concluded “as per the own admission of Satiner Kour, her husband, who is not a party to the present petition, had been residing with her in her parental house between October 2015 till December 2016. In view of the fact that the allegations levelled against the petitioners (elderly parents and their daughter and grandchildren) are vague, bereft of necessary particulars. Continuance of such proceedings shall be nothing but an abuse of process of law.”
He directed that the proceedings in the charge-sheet arising out of FIR of 2017 registered by the police at the instance of Kour for commission of alleged offences “are required to be quashed qua the petitioners only, as the husband of the respondent No.2 has not filed the present petition.”
