High Court Quashes FIR Against Husband and Family, Terms It Malicious and Vengeful
Srinagar, Sept 19:
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, presided by Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, has quashed FIR No. 01/2024 registered at Women’s Police Station Baramulla against a husband and his family. The FIR, which alleged dowry harassment and cruelty under Sections 498-A, 354, 342, and 34 IPC, was found to be motivated by vengeance following the pronouncement of divorce.The Court noted that the complainant, despite claiming harassment since 2015, chose to lodge the FIR only in February 2024, immediately after divorce. Justice Wani held that such belated and generalized allegations, without specific dates or events, were an “afterthought” and legally unsustainable. The Court further observed that the complainant’s silence for nearly a decade undermined the credibility of her claims.Relying on the landmark judgment in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992), the Court ruled that the FIR was manifestly attended with mala fide intent and instituted with the ulterior motive of wrecking vengeance and causing harassment to the accused. It reiterated that criminal law cannot be permitted to become an instrument of retaliation or personal grudge once matrimonial ties have ended.Accepting the submissions of Advocate Syed Abid Parvaiz, counsel for the petitioner, the Court concluded that the complaint was maliciously instituted to defame and harass the petitioners. Consequently, the FIR was quashed in its entirety, bringing an end to the proceedings.
