Can't Turn Every Distressed Or Failed Marriage Into Criminal Case: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has warned that routinely turning every distressed or failed marriage into a criminal case could affect the institution of marriage at its core, quashing an FIR alleging dowry harassment, physical assault and attempted strangulation in a case involving a brief period of cohabitation.

A division bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Tarun Saxena quashed the FIR registered at the Hari Parvat police station in Agra under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Dowry Prohibition Act, allowing a writ petition filed by Gaurav Jain and his family members.

Emphasising the dangers of converting matrimonial discord intro criminal cases, the court cautioned against the misuse of criminal law in short-lived marriages.

According to the facts of the case, the marriage was solemnised on November 12, 2024, and the wife left the matrimonial home on February 3, 2025, after approximately two-and-a-half months of cohabitation.

The husband filed a divorce petition on May 3, 2025, following which the FIR was registered on June 30, 2025.

The FIR alleged dowry demands and harassment, denial of food, threats, retention of the wife's stridhan and an attempt to strangulate her.

The court noted that no domestic violence complaint, police control room (PCR) call or contemporaneous police intervention concerning the alleged acts had been brought on record from the period of cohabitation.

The high court observed that while protecting women from dowry-related violence and cruelty is a statutory and constitutional imperative, the possibility of misuse of criminal law cannot be ignored.

It emphasised that matrimnial discord can not automatically be treated as criminality and that criminal proceedings cannot be used as a substitute for adjudication before a matrimonial court.

The high court warned that if every distressed or failed marriage is routinely converted into an FIR and subjected to the coercive machinery of criminal law, the institution of marriage will inevitably be affected at its core.

In its judgment dated October 8, the high court clarified that its decision did not adjudicate the merits of the pending matrimonial proceedings.

Both parties remain free topursue their remedies before the competent matrimonial court. The complainant may also pursue any independent remedy available under the law in respect of a distinct cause of action, subject to statutory requirements.

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