The Court noted that the wife had already received ₹11 Lakh as full and final settlement from the husband and a mutual divorce decree had been passed by the family court on the basis of the compromise between the couple.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently levied a ₹1 lakh fine on a woman who did not provide her consent for the dismissal of a cruelty case she had filed against her husband and in-laws.
Although the couple had reached a settlement, the wife did not appear before the High Court to have her statement recorded for the quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 498-A (which pertains to cruelty by a husband or his relatives).
Justice Sumeet Goel observed that the wife had already received ₹11 lakh as a full and final settlement from her husband, and a mutual divorce decree had been issued by the family court based on their agreement.
“It, accordingly, is indubitable that respondent No.2-wife has repeated all benefits from the compromise/settlement deed in question and a decree of divorce (by way of mutual consent) also stands passed,” the Court said.
The Court noted that continuing the criminal proceedings would amount to a blatant abuse of the legal process and judicial system. Consequently, it quashed the FIR from August 2019.
Additionally, the Court criticized the wife’s actions, stating that any attempt to misuse the legal system or courts should be condemned.
“The feeling of rancor or bitterness cannot be permitted to be genesis for procrastinating the culmination of legal proceedings especially when settlement/compromise has been arrived at between the rival parties. Abhorrence of such attempt(s) is pertinent. Ergo, the respondent No.2-wife deserves to be saddled with costs, which essentially ought to be in the nature of veritable real time costs,” the Court said.
The Court then instructed the wife to deposit ₹1 lakh with the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Yamuna Nagar at Jagadhri within four weeks.
The amount is to be subsequently transferred to the Haryana State Legal Services Authority in Panchkula.
The High Court has previously imposed fines on women who, despite settling their matrimonial disputes and receiving permanent alimony after divorce, refused to cooperate in the quashing of criminal cases against their ex-husbands.