Husband Hands Wife ₹5 Lakh Draft In Settlement As Patna HC Dissolves Marriage, Quashes Criminal Case

The parties married on 15 December 2018 and had a daughter. Following matrimonial disputes, the wife lodged Jamalpur P.S. Case No. 140 of 2022 and sought divorce under Section 13(i)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Family Court dismissed her petition, and she appealed under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

During the appeal, the parties reached an amicable settlement and filed a joint compromise petition. The husband handed the wife a demand draft for ₹5 lakh in court.

The appeal was brought under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, against the dismissal of a divorce petition under Section 13(i)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The judgment records that the parties jointly sought disposal of the appeal in accordance with their settlement and undertook to comply with its terms.

It cites no precedent or specific statutory provision as the basis for quashing the criminal proceedings, and states no general legal test governing either relief.

The Court accepted the parties’ joint request to resolve the matrimonial dispute by settlement rather than adjudicate the merits of the wife’s original cruelty claim.

It noted that the husband had delivered the ₹5 lakh demand draft to the wife in court, with her receipt endorsed and placed on record. On that basis, it set aside the Family Court’s dismissal and dissolved the marriage.

It also directed that the pending criminal proceedings identified in the compromise petition be quashed or closed, and required the parties to abide by their settlement and not bring further cases against each other concerning their matrimonial dispute.

The Court also quashed or closed the specified pending criminal proceedings and permitted the parties to produce a certified copy of its order before the court where those proceedings were pending.