The Calcutta High Court has quashed a criminal proceeding under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code after a matrimonial dispute was settled and the parties obtained a mutual consent divorce. The Court held that continuing the prosecution after the marriage had been dissolved and the matrimonial claims settled would amount to an abuse of the process of law.
Background
The case arose from a matrimonial relationship between Sri Prince Bansal and Smt. Anamika Sarkar. The parties had undergone a court marriage in July 2018 and a social marriage in December 2019. They separated in March 2020 following marital differences.
A criminal case under Section 498A IPC was registered at Lake Town Police Station in November 2020 following proceedings initiated under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A charge sheet was subsequently filed against the petitioner.
The dispute later took a different course when the parties jointly approached the Dwarka Family Court for divorce by mutual consent. Their settlement covered maintenance, dowry, permanent alimony and stridhan. The wife also gave an undertaking before the Family Court to withdraw the pending criminal case after the divorce was granted.
The Family Court dissolved the marriage on April 18, 2023, after waiving the six-month waiting period. However, the criminal proceeding continued as the complainant did not cooperate in withdrawing it.
Justice Uday Kumar noted that Section 498A is non-compoundable, but this does not prevent the High Court from exercising its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC where intervention is necessary to secure justice.
Relying on Supreme Court decisions including B.S. Joshi, Gian Singh, State of Madhya Pradesh v. Laxmi Narayan and Ruchi Agarwal, the Court observed that matrimonial criminal proceedings can be quashed where the dispute has been genuinely settled and continuation of the prosecution would serve no useful purpose.
The Court also stressed the importance of an undertaking given before a court. It held that a party cannot accept the benefit of a mutual consent divorce while refusing to honour the corresponding undertaking to withdraw the criminal case.
Justice Uday Kumar held that the matrimonial dispute had been completely resolved, the marriage had been dissolved, and the related financial claims had been settled. In these circumstances, the Court found that continuation of the criminal case would constitute an abuse of the judicial process.
Accordingly, the Calcutta High Court allowed CRR 2063 of 2024 and quashed General Register Case No. 815 of 2020, arising from Lake Town Police Station Case No. 200 of 2020, along with Charge Sheet No. 14/2021 and all consequential proceedings.
Case Details:
- Case Title: Sri Prince Bansal v. State of West Bengal & Anr.
- Case Number: CRR 2063 of 2024
- Judge: Justice Uday Kumar
- Decision Date: 14 September 2026
