Gujarat High Court
Sanjay Kanakraj Joshi Thro' His ... vs State Of Gujarat & on 9 February, 2016
Author: Sonia Gokani
Bench: Sonia Gokani
R/CR.MA/25010/2015 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING & SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) No. 25010 of 2015
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SANJAY KANAKRAJ JOSHI THRO' HIS P.O.A.H. HITENDRA KANAIYALAL
JOSHI....Applicant(s)
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & 1....Respondent(s)
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Appearance:
Mr ANKUR Y OZA, Advocate for the Applicant(s) No. 1
Mr GIRISH PRAJAPATI Advocate for the Respondent No.2-Complainant
Mr JK SHAH, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM: HONOURABLE Ms. JUSTICE SONIA
GOKANI
9th February 2016
ORAL ORDER
Rule returnable today. Learned APP Mr. HK Patel waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent No.1- State of Gujarat and learned advocate Mr. Girish Prajapati appears and waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of respondent no.2-Complainant.
This Criminal Misc. Application is preferred under Section 482 CrPC for quashment of complaint, being FIR No. I-CR 140 of 2011 registered with Bopal Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 498[A], 323, Page 1 of 5 HC-NIC Page 1 of 5 Created On Fri Feb 12 02:30:20 IST 2016 R/CR.MA/25010/2015 ORDER 504 IPC.
Today, when the matter is taken up for hearing, it is jointly submitted by the learned advocates appearing for the parties that an amicable settlement has taken place and the quashing of the FIR is prayed for with the consent of the respondent No.2Original complainant. He has also filed an affidavit, confirming about the settlement. The said affidavit read thus: "I, Bindiya, wife of Sanjay Joshi, aged adult, residing at Ahmedabad respondent no.2 herein, do hereby declare on solemn affirmation and state as under :
1. That the marriage of the petitioner was solemnized with the respondent no. 2 on 29.06.2002 at Rajkot by Hindu rites and customs.
After about 9 years of marriage life, in and around 1st July 2011, the respondent no.2 returned back to India and started living with her parents in Ahmedabad and since then, the respondent no.2 and the petitioner are living separately.
2. I state that on 22/12/2011, I had lodged a complaint against the petitioner being FIR I140/2011 dated 22/12/2011 in Bopal Police Station for the offences punishable under Section 498 [A], 323 and 504 of the IPC. I had thereafter also made a complaint against the petitioner and her inlaws under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which is at present pending as Criminal Misc. Application No. 03/2012 in the Court of Civil Judge, Ahmedabad [Rural] at Mirzapur, Ahmedabad. I have also filed a case for maintenance in the Family Court,Ahmedabad.
3. I state I and the petitioner have amicably resolved all the disputes and have mutually agreed to dissolve the marriage without making any allegations against each other. The petitioner and respondent no. 2 have settled all their disputes and have mutually agreed to dissolve their marriage by a decree of divorce for which a separate petition for divorce by mutual consent is to be filed under Section 13 [B] of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The respondent no. 2 and the petitioner have also agreed to withdraw all the proceedings including civil and criminal filed against each other to settle the disputes amicably. The respondent no. 2 and the petitioner have also agreed to cooperate each other to ensure that all the proceedings including civil and criminal in nature be either withdrawn or quashed.
4. In view of above, the respondent no. 2 gives consent and has no objection, if the FIR dated 22/12/2011 registered at Crime Register Page 2 of 5 HC-NIC Page 2 of 5 Created On Fri Feb 12 02:30:20 IST 2016 R/CR.MA/25010/2015 ORDER No. I140/2011 for the offences punishable under Section 498[A], 323, and 504 of the IPC against the petitioner in the Bopal Police Station, District Ahmedabad is quashed.
5. I further submit that the respondent no. 2 has no objection, if the relief prayed for in the petition be granted and FIR I140/2011 is quashed and setaside."
Having heard both the sides and having considered the fact that the parties have amicably settled the dispute, which being private in nature, so as to bring peace between the parties, and when the complainant herself in person confirms the same, this Court is of the opinion that they can be permitted to settle the same and the criminal proceedings which is otherwise not compoundable in nature, with the consent terms being placed on the record, deserves to be quashed. Apt it would be to reproduce the relevant observations made by the Apex Court in case of Jitendra Raghuvanshi & Ors. v. Babita Raghuvanshi & Anr., reported in 2013 (3) GLR 1875, which reads thus "14. The inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code are wide and unfettered. In B.S. Joshi (Supra), this Court has upheld the powers of the High Court under Section 482 to quash criminal proceedings where dispute is of a private nature and a compromise is entered into between the parties who are willing to settle their differences amicably. We are satisfied that the said decision is directly applicable to the case on hand and the High Court ought to have quashed the criminal proceedings by accepting the settlement Page 3 of 5 HC-NIC Page 3 of 5 Created On Fri Feb 12 02:30:20 IST 2016 R/CR.MA/25010/2015 ORDER arrived at.
15. In our view, it is the duty of the courts to encourage genuine settlements of matrimonial disputes, particularly, when the same are on considerable increase. Even if the offences are non- compoundable, if they relate to matrimonial disputes and the court is satisfied that the parties have settled the same amicably and without any pressure, we hold that for the purpose of securing ends of justice, Section 320 of the Code would not be a bar to the exercise of power of quashing of FIR, complaint or the subsequent criminal proceedings.
16. There has been an outburst of matrimonial disputes in recent times. The institution of marriage occupies an important place and it has an important role to play in the society. Therefore, every effort should be made in the interest of the individuals in order to enable them to settle down in life and live peacefully. If the parties ponder over their defaults and terminate their disputes amicably by mutual agreement instead of fighting it out in a court of law, in order to do complete justice in the matrimonial matters, the courts should be less hesitant in exercising its extraordinary jurisdiction. It is trite to state that the power under Section 482 should be exercised sparingly and with circumspection only when the court is convinced, on the basis of material on record, that allowing the proceedings to continue would be an abuse of the process of the court or that the ends Page 4 of 5 HC-NIC Page 4 of 5 Created On Fri Feb 12 02:30:20 IST 2016 R/CR.MA/25010/2015 ORDER of justice require that the proceedings ought to be quashed. We also make it clear that exercise of such power would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case and it has to be exercised in appropriate cases in order to do real and substantial justice for the administration of which alone the courts exist. It is the duty of the courts to encourage genuine settlements of matrimonial disputes and Section 482 of the Code enables the High Court and Article 142 of the Constitution enables this Court to pass such orders."
In the result, this Misc. Criminal Application is allowed. The F.I.R.
being CR No. I140 of 2011 registered with Bopal Police Station, District Ahmedabad, is hereby ordered to be quashed. All consequential proceedings pursuant thereto shall stand terminated.
Rule is made absolute. Direct service is permitted.
{Ms. Sonia Gokani, J.} Prakash* Page 5 of 5 HC-NIC Page 5 of 5 Created On Fri Feb 12 02:30:20 IST 2016