Matrimonial criminal proceedings may be quashed upon amicable settlement to prevent abuse of process.

The dispute originated from matrimonial discord between Petitioner No. 1 (husband) and Respondent No. 2 (wife), who were married on 07.12.2020

Respondent No. 2 lodged FIR No. 15/2023 at Police Station Mahila Thana, Raipur, alleging harassment under Sections 498A and 34 of the IPC

Subsequent to the FIR, a chargesheet was filed for offences under Sections 498A, 34, 406, and 417 of the IPC, and the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Raipur, took cognizance on 09.06.2023

During the pendency of the proceedings, the marriage was dissolved by a decree of divorce dated 28.07.2023

On 02.05.2025, the parties executed a comprehensive compromise deed wherein it was agreed that all stridhan would be returned and all pending litigations would be withdrawn

Both parties have since remarried

The petitioners approached the High Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, seeking to quash the FIR and consequential proceedings based on this settlement.

Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent powers under Section 528 of the BNSS (formerly Section 482 of the CrPC) to quash criminal proceedings arising out of a matrimonial dispute when the parties have reached an amicable settlement

Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023, which preserves the High Court's inherent power to prevent abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice

The High Court may quash criminal proceedings involving non-compoundable offences if they are predominantly civil or matrimonial in nature and have been settled, rendering the possibility of conviction bleak

Section 320 of the Code does not limit the inherent powers of the High Court to quash FIRs in matrimonial disputes to meet the ends of justice

Courts should encourage the settlement of matrimonial disputes to allow parties to move forward

The Court observed that the dispute was personal and matrimonial in nature, lacking any serious impact on society

It noted that the parties had voluntarily entered into a settlement deed dated 02.05.2025, the marriage was already dissolved, and both parties had remarried

Applying the Gian Singh doctrine, the Court reasoned that because of the compromise, the complainant was unlikely to support the prosecution, making the prospect of conviction "remote and bleak"

The Court concluded that dragging the proceedings further would cause "great oppression and prejudice" to the petitioners and would constitute an abuse of the process of law, as the final outcome would inevitably be an acquittal

It quashed FIR No. 15/2023, Chargesheet No. 13/2023, the cognizance order dated 09.06.2023, and all consequential proceedings in Criminal Case No. 9900/2023 pending before the JMFC, Raipur, against all four petitioners