In a significant judgment, the Uttarakhand High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man in a dowry harassment case filed by his former wife, holding that continuing the case after divorce and her remarriage would amount to “unnecessary harassment” and an “abuse of the process of law.”
A single-judge bench of Justice Alok Mehra passed the order while allowing a petition filed by the husband, who challenged the charge sheet and summons issued by a Dehradun magistrate in a case registered under Sections 498A and 323 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
The applicant and the complainant got married in 2009. However, marital discord led to their separation. In 2016, the woman filed a criminal complaint alleging cruelty and physical assault, leading to registration of the case. The husband contended that the allegations were false and exaggerated, and initiated divorce proceedings during the pendency of the case.
The divorce was granted in 2018, and the woman subsequently remarried.
The Court took note of the factual developments, particularly the dissolution of the marriage and the respondent’s remarriage. Justice Mehra observed:
“The allegations arose from a matrimonial dispute that no longer exists in light of the divorce and remarriage. Continuation of proceedings in such circumstances serves no purpose except to harass the applicant.”
Terming it an abuse of the court process, the bench quashed all proceedings pending before the first-class judicial magistrate, including the charge sheet and summons order.
