Does Agreement Of Separation Between Married Couple Amount To Divorce? Madhya Pradesh HC Answers

A single bench led by Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia of the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently observed that a separate divorce agreement signed by a husband and wife has no legal validity and does not amount to divorce.

Background

This case concerns quashing a case registered by a wife in 2023 against her husband and in-laws. Husband and Wife got married on 21/04/2022 and later the wife alleged that she was subjected to taunts for dowry from her husband and in-laws. As a result, she is compelled to live with her parents due to cruelty, and harassment by the husband and in-laws, and therefore, an FIR was lodged against the husband and in-laws under Sections 498-A, 506, and 34 of IPC and under Sections 3, and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. 

  Applicant's Contentions

The petition under Section 482 of Criminal Procedural Code was filed by the Applicants, namely, the husband and his parents challenging the FIR lodged by the wife before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The applicants submitted that divorce had taken place between husband and wife by executing a mutual agreement dated 22/06/2022 and an FIR was lodged later on 20/12/2023. Therefore, they challenged the FIR based on the fact that there was no relationship between husband and wife at the time of filing of an FIR. 

Applicants also submitted that the wife has also filed an application under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act for the declaration of marriage of the wife with husband as null and void.

Further, the applicants contended that the wife had agreed that she would not take any judicial action against the applicant.

Court's Observation

• Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia of the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that the contentions of the applicants that parties have separately divorced agreement cannot be relied upon. 

The Court said that “the agreement of separation has no sanctity in the eye of law, therefore it cannot be said that any divorce has taken place between the parties.” 

Adding to that the Court also mentioned that “Even otherwise, if any divorce has taken place, still the FIR under Section 498-A of IPC can be lodged in respect of cruelty meted out to the complainant prior to the divorce but that situation has not arisen in the present case because no divorce has taken place between the parties.”

• The Court mentioned that parties are not Muslim by religion, therefore cannot be any divorce by mutual consent without approaching the Court. 
• The Court also addressed the contention raised by the counsel for applicants, which argued that wife had agreed not to take any judicial action against them. The Court conclusively rejected this argument, identifying it as misconceived and contrary to the provisions of Section 28 of the Contract Act. 
• The Court also mentioned that it cannot grant any injunction under section 41 of the Specific Relief Act to restrain a person from taking legal action.
• Further, the court referred to the case of Tara Parakh vs State of MP and others reported in (2015) 11 SCC 260, in which the Supreme Court held that the question of whether the appellant (Wife) has been harassed and treated with cruelty is a matter of trial but at this stage, it cannot be said that no case is made out. Thus, the quashing of the proceeding before the trial is not permissible. 

Conclusion

The Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that there is no evidence to support intervention after considering all relevant facts and circumstances of the case including allegations made in the FIR. Thus, based on the abovementioned observations, the Court rejected the petition.

Counsel for Applicants: Mr. Manoj Tiwari

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Mohan Sausarkar (Public Prosecutor)

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 107

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