Vague, delayed allegations of marital discord-related offenses lacking specific dates constitute an abuse of legal process.

The applicant (Accused No. 2) sought to quash FIR No. B-11210003211046 of 2021 filed under Sections 323, 504, 506, 507, and 114 of the IPC.

The complainant (Respondent No. 2) alleged that in March 2021, the applicant intercepted her moped with his car and made sexually predatory remarks and threats regarding her marital dispute with his son.

The applicant contended that he had publicly disowned his son in 2006, the son and complainant were divorced via agreement in 2012, and he was out of the country between March 13–24, 2021.

Furthermore, a previous FIR filed by the complainant in 2016 against the applicant was found meritless by the police.

1. Whether the FIR and subsequent proceedings against the applicant constitute an abuse of the process of law due to the vague and substanceless nature of the allegations.

The court primarily applied the principles governing the quashing of criminal proceedings under Section 482 of the CrPC, specifically relying on the landmark precedent of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal & Ors. (AIR 1992 SC 604).

This authority establishes that an FIR may be quashed if the allegations are so absurd or inherently improbable that no prudent person could ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused.

The Court observed that the complainant failed to provide a specific date for the alleged incident and did not controvert the evidence presented by the applicant.

Significant weight was given to the fact that the applicant had severed ties with his son in 2006 and that the complainant and the son had entered a divorce agreement in 2012, nearly nine years before the current FIR.

The Court noted the delay in filing the FIR (incident in March, FIR in July) and the fact that independent witnesses at the scene did not support the allegations.

It determined that the complaint was an attempt to settle personal vendettas arising from marital discord, fitting the criteria for quashing under the Bhajan Lal guidelines as the allegations lacked substance and failed to repose confidence.

The Court held that allowing the proceedings to continue based on such vague and improbable allegations would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

Rule was made absolute.