Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.482 – Quashing – Constitution of India – Art.142 – Invocation of – Complaint and FIR filed against the appellants u/ss.494 and 498A, IPC by respondent No.1-wife subsequent to the dissolution of the marriage between her and her husband – Appellants sought quashing thereof, rejected by High Court – Further, in the suit filed by respondent No.1 w.r.t a gift settlement deed, both the parties had agreed for an amicable compromise to settle all disputes before Lok Adalat – Whether, the complaint and FIR against the appellants, ought to be quashed: Held: Yes – There is a decree of divorce which has attained finality and the parties have parted ways – The Complaint and FIR against the appellants was filed by respondent No.1 subsequent to the dissolution of the marriage – Furthermore, by way of the order passed by the Lok Adalat in Lok Adalat, a full and final settlement of all claims was effectuated between the parties by way of which all the differences between them have come to be resolved – Once the parties have genuinely settled all their differences amicably, the continuation of criminal proceedings between the parties serves no legitimate purpose and would only be an instance of harassment to the appellants having regard to the peculiar facts of the case – The complaint and all proceedings arising out of the said complaint made by respondent No.1, quashed – Invoking powers u/Art.142, the FIR u/ss.494 and 498A, IPC and all other criminal proceedings commenced pursuant thereto also quashed – Penal Code, 1860 – ss.494 and 498A. [Paras 16, 22]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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