Bombay High Court
Yogen Krishin Gidwani And Ors vs The State Of Maharashtra And Anr on 25 March, 2021
Bench: S.S. Shinde, Manish Pitale
Digitally signed
Laxmikant by Laxmikant G. cri.wp-1054.21.odt
G. Chandan
Date: 2021.03.26
Chandan 11:16:14 +0530
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.1054 OF 2021
1] Yogen Krishin Gidwani ]
Age : 33 years, Occ : Service ]
r/s. At E7 Konark Kinara CHS, ]
Kalyani Nagar, Talera Park Lane, ]....Applicant/
Pune 411006 ] Accused No.1.
]
2] Kishori Krishin Gidwani ]
Age ____ years, Occ : Service ]
r/s. At E7 Konark Kinara CHS, ]
Kalyani Nagar, Talera Park Lane, ]....Applicant/
Pune 411006 ] Accused No.2.
]
3] Late Ashok Rajaram Kambli ]..... Accused No.3
(Deceased) ]
Versus
1] The State of Maharashtra ]
(Through Bangur Nagar Police Station) ]..... Respondent No.1.
]
2] Bharti Lachwani ]
Age : 32 years, Occ : ]
residing at 102/A Narmada Enclave ]
Behind Maxus Mall, Bhayander West, ]..... Respondent No.2/
Thane - 401101 ] Org. Complainant.
Mr. Vaibhav R Gargade for the Applicants/Petitioners.
Smt. A S Pai, APP for the Respondent No.1/State.
Mr. Siddharth Jaiswal for Respondent No.2.
CORAM : S. S. SHINDE,
MANISH PITALE, JJ
Reserved on : 24th March 2021
Pronounced on: 25th March 2021
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JUDGMENT (PER S S SHINDE, J)
1 Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard with the consent
of learned counsel appearing for the parties.
The Petitioners have filed this Writ Petition for the following
substantial relief :-
"(a) That this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to quash the Cr.
No. 352/2019 dated 08.10.2019 registered at the office
of Bangur Nagar Police Station for alleged offence
punishable u/s. 498(A), 24 of IPC, 1860 on such terms
and conditions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit to
grant in the circumstances of the case."
2 Petitioner N.1 - Yogen Gidwani is the husband of Respondent No.2
- Bharti. The marriage of Petitioner No.1 and Respondent No.2 got solemnized
on 18/11/2013. After marriage, they started co-habiting at the house of
Petitioner No.1. It is alleged in the FIR that during the stay of the informant in
the matrimonial house with the Petitioner No.1 along with other accused, on
several occasions, the Petitioners mentally and physically abused the
Respondent No.2. Therefore the Respondent No.2 lodged the FIR vide CR
No.352 of 2019 with the Bangur Police Station against the Petitioners for the
offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
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3 The learned counsel appearing for the Petitioners and the learned
counsel appearing for Respondent No. 2 jointly submit that the parties have
amicably resolved/settled the disputes, and to that effect the Petitioners and
Respondent No.2 have filed Consent Terms before the Family Court at Bandra,
Mumbai. In terms of the said settlement, the Respondent No.2 has consented
for a full and final settlement amount of Rs.20,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Lakhs
only).
4 It is submitted by the learned counsel for Respondent No. 2 that it
is the voluntary act of Respondent No. 2 to arrive at settlement and give
consent for quashing the impugned FIR.
5 This matter was on board yesterday i.e. on 24/03/2021 for
hearing. At that time the 2nd Respondent was present in the Court. She was
identified by her advocate. When we interacted with her, she stated that it is
her voluntary act without coercion to enter into the settlement and file the
consent terms before the Family Court at Bandra. She further stated that she
has no objection for quashing the impugned FIR. In support of her aforesaid
statements, she has filed her affidavit before this Court.
6 In paragraphs 1 to 4 of her affidavit, Respondent No.2 has stated
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thus :-
"1 I say that I have amicably agreed to resolve and to settle
all my disputes complaints, DV Applications,
Maintenance applications, FIR filed with the concerned
Police stations, against Shri Yogen Krishin Gidwani and
his family members filed by me which are pending
before Hon'ble High Court at Mumbai bearing Writ
Petition No.1054 of 2021 subject to Petitioner No.1, that
is Shri Yogen Krishin Gidwani would lprovide me an
amount of Rs.20,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Lakhs only)
as full and final settlement amount towards withdrawals
of the cases and towards permanent alimony, and out of
the same an amount of Rs.2,00,000/- has been provided
by the Petitioner No.1 to the Respondent No.2 with
respect to maintenance or lump sum full and final
settlement amount for dissolving our marriage by
withdrawing all the cases and quashing the FIR before
the Hon'ble High Court Judicature at Bombay jointly and
mutually;
2 I say that I give my consent to quash the FIR which is
filed by me against the Petitioner and his families
registered with Bangur Nagar Police Station for offences
under Section 498A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code,
1860 bearing CR No.352 of 2019.
3 I say that, I do not wish to prosecute the present
Applicants as he has abided by the terms of the Consent
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Terms and I have forgiven him.
4. I say that, I am making this affidavit out of my free own
will in the absence of coercion or undue influence from
any person."
7 Since the Petitioners and the 2nd Respondent have amicably settled
the dispute and the said dispute arose out of matrimonial discord, and in view
of the fact that the parties have already arrived at the consent terms filed
before the Family Court, no fruitful purpose will be served by continuing the
further investigation in the impugned FIR being CR No.352 of 2019 registered
with Bangur Nagar Police Station against the Petitioners for the offences
punishable under Sections 498A, 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
8 The Supreme Court in the case of Giansingh v. State of Punjab
and Another1 has held that, the criminal cases having overwhelmingly and
predominatingly civil flavour stand on a different footing for the purposes of
quashing, particularly the offences arising from commercial, financial,
mercantile, civil, partnership or such like transactions or the offence arising out
of matrimony relating to dowry, etc. or the family disputes where the wrong is
basically private or personal in nature and the parties have resolves their entire
dispute. In this category of cases, the High Court may quash the criminal
proceedings if in its view, because of the compromise between the offender and
1 2012 (10) SCC 303
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the victim, the possibility of conviction is remote and bleak and continuation of
the criminal case would put the accused to great oppression and prejudice and
extreme injustice would be caused to him by not quashing the criminal case
despite full and complete settlement and compromise with the victim. It is
further held that, as inherent power is of wide plenitude with no statutory
limitation but it has to be exercised in accord with the guideline en-grafted in
such power viz.: (I) to secure the ends of justice, or (ii) to prevent abuse of the
process of any court.
9 In the light of discussion in foregoing paragraphs, it is abundantly
clear that the Respondent No. 2 is not going to support the allegations made in
the impugned FIR and further continuation of investigation in impugned FIR
being CR No.352 of 2019 registered with Bangur Nagar Police Station against
the Petitioners for the offences punishable under Sections 498A, 34 of the
Indian Penal Code, would tantamount to the abuse of the process of the
Law/Court. Since the Respondent No. 3 is not going to support the allegations
made in the impugned FIR, the chances of the conviction of the Petitioners
would be remote and bleak. The entire dispute arose out of matrimonial
discord. In that view of the matter, the writ Petition deserves to be allowed.
Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed in terms of prayer clause (a) which
reads thus :-
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"(a) That this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to quash the Cr.
No. 352/2019 dated 08.10.2019 registered at the office
of Bangur Nagar Police Station for alleged offence
punishable u/s. 498(A), 24 of IPC, 1860 on such terms
and conditions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit to
grant in the circumstances of the case."
10 The parties to abide strictly by the Consent Terms arrived at
between them. Rule is made absolute to the above extent and, the Writ
Petition stands disposed of accordingly.
[MANISH PITALE, J] [S. S. SHINDE , J]
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