The Punjab & Haryana High Court has imposed a cost of Rs.50,000 on a woman who failed to turn up before the Magistrate to record her statement about the settlement of the matrimonial dispute after taking maintenance from her husband.
The Court set aside the FIR lodged against the husband for cruelty and allegations of harassment on account of dowry and Istridhan, it observed, “continuation of proceedings in the impugned FIR is nothing but sheer abuse of process of law and Courts”
Justice Sumeet Goel said, “Any attempt to misuse the process of law/Courts ought to be detested. The feeling of rancor or bitterness cannot be permitted to be genesis for procrastinating the culmination of legal proceedings especially when settlement/compromise has been arrived at between the rival parties. Abhorrence of such attempt(s) is pertinent. Ergo, the respondent No.2-wife deserves to be saddled with costs, which essentially ought to be in the nature of veritable real time costs.”
The Court opined that nothing except harassment would be caused to the petitioner-husband in case the proceedings in pursuance of the impugned FIR are permitted to continue.
Title: Deepak v. State of Haryana and another
Court order: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:cb963ee7-2989-43ca-aadb-a5239da44c95
