The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed two criminal cases involving dowry harassment and other charges following an amicable settlement between a husband and wife.
A single-judge bench of Justice Ashish Naithani passed the order after petitioner Jitendra Singh Chauhan and his wife Akshi Bisht Chauhan submitted that they no longer wished to pursue the litigation against each other. The couple informed the court that they had resolved their marital disputes and desired to live peacefully.
During the hearing, the state government objected to the quashing of the cases. However, the court referred to the principle laid down by the Supreme Court in Giyan Singh vs State of Punjab, which permits quashing of criminal proceedings if parties settle disputes mutually in order to preserve peace and harmony.
Accordingly, the high court quashed the criminal case pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Dehradun, which included allegations of dowry harassment, assault, verbal abuse, and violations under the Dowry Prohibition Act. Another criminal case involving charges of abortion, blackmail, and criminal conspiracy was also set aside.
With the disputes amicably resolved, both criminal petitions were disposed of. The court noted that continuation of the cases would serve no purpose once the parties had reconciled their differences.
