Pending Matrimonial Litigation Between Parties In UAE Not Ground To Quash Cruelty FIR Against Husband In Srinagar: J&K&L High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir & Ladakh High Court today ruled that the proceedings for divorce or restitution of conjugal rights are of civil nature whereas the purpose of lodging of an FIR is to set the criminal law into motion, which is aimed at punishing the erring husband for his acts of cruelty. In view thereof, a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Dhar refused to quash an FIR registered against the petitioner for offences under Sections 498-A and 406 RPC. As per the complaint, the respondent was driven out by the petitioner from his home on 26th July, 2016 after giving a severe beating to her whereafter he left for Dubai. In his plea the petitioner had challenged the FIR on the grounds that there is already a matrimonial litigation pending between the parties before the court at Sharjah UAE where the petitioner and respondent No.2 are presently residing separately. The petitioner argued that keeping this in view it was not open to respondent to lodge the impugned FIR against the petitioner as the same has been done in order to evade the outcome of the proceedings pending before the court at Sharjah . Adjudicating upon the matter, Justice Dhar observed that the contention of the petitioner that since the matrimonial litigation is going on between petitioner and respondent in the courts at Sharjah and hence the respondent could not have lodged the impugned FIR, is without any merit for the reason that the scope of litigation relating to divorce or restitution of conjugal rights is different from the scope of criminal proceedings. "The proceedings for divorce or restitution of conjugal rights are civil in nature while as the purpose of proceedings for lodging of an FIR is to set the criminal law into motion, which is aimed at punishing the erring husband for his acts of cruelty. Therefore, merely because matrimonial litigation between the parties is going on at Sharjah would not be a ground to quash the impugned FIR," Justice Dhar observed. Dealing with the matter at hand the bench observed that the record shows that the petitioner has not appeared before the trial Magistrate as yet and he has been declared as an absconder by the Magistrate. "A person who has been declared as an absconder by a court and against whom an arrest warrant has been issued is not entitled to the relief of quashing of FIR by taking recourse to Section 482 of the Cr. P. C. Such a petition by an absconder is not maintainable and on this ground alone, the instant petition deserves to be dismissed," the court underscored. Case Title: Rouf Majid Naqash Vs SHO P/S Womens Wing Citation: 2022 LiveLaw(JKL) 81 Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

Pending Matrimonial Litigation Between Parties In UAE Not Ground To Quash Cruelty FIR Against Husband In Srinagar: J&K&L High Court

Basit Amin Makhdoomi

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