Husband & Wife Settle Dispute, Gujarat HC Quashes FIR Against The Wife Who Allegedly Poisoned Daughters And Attempted Suicide [Read Order]

The bench of Justice A. P. Thaker passed the order after the husband and the wife reached an amicable settlement and the wife moved the High Court with a prayer to quash the FIR filed against her.

Notably, the husband submitted before the court that he had no objection if the FIR is quashed. It was categorically submitted before the court that the woman had taken the extreme step out of frustration.

The background of the case

The FIR in question had been lodged against the applicant, who is a lady, for attempting to murder her own two daughters.

The Advocate for the applicant submitted that on the reading of the FIR, it would reflect that out of frustration, the applicant had administered the poisonous substance to her two children as well as she herself had consumed the said substance as she wanted to commit suicide.

In fact, there was a family dispute between the husband and the wife and due to that, under frustration, the applicant had committed the alleged crime.

Further, it was argued that an amicable settlement had been arrived at between the present applicant and respondent No.2 i.e. husband and wife. He also submitted that as the complainant himself has filed an affidavit, the request of quashing the FIR may be allowed in the interest of justice.

Apart from that, the advocate for respondent No.2 (the Husband) also supported the version of the applicant (the Wife) and stated that the complainant has no objection if the present application is allowed and the FIR filed against the applicant be quashed and set aside as the said dispute has been settled between them.

The Additional Public Prosecutor for respondent No.1 – State submitted before the court that the offence under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code is against the society at large and, therefore, even if the settlement has been arrived at between the accused and the complainant, the FIR may not be quashed.

The APP further submitted that she has received the instructions from the concerned police personnel that the parties had settled the dispute and so if the Court comes to the conclusion that the present application is required to be allowed, then, in that case, considering the narration and the mental state of the applicant that she has no income and her husband was not paying any heed to her and due to that, under frustration, she has committed the alleged offence, the applicant may be advised to join the Suman Mahila Gruh Udyog, Shanti Bhavan, Opposite Rander Road, Behind Navyug Arts College, Surat for her livelihood.

The Observation of the court

The court acknowledged the fact that it is settled law that for considering the petition under Section 482 of the Code, it is necessary to consider as to whether the allegations in the complaint prima facie make out a case or not, and the Court is not to scrutinize the allegations for the purpose of deciding whether such allegations are likely to be upheld in the trial.

The court was of the view that it is also well settled that though the High Court possesses inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code, these powers are meant to do real and substantial justice, for the administration of which alone it exists or to prevent abuse of the process of the court.

In this regard, the court referred to the Supreme Court's judgment delivered last year (March 2019) in the case of State of Madhya Pradesh Vs. Laxmi Narayan and others AIR 2019 SC 1296. In this matter, a three-Judge Bench of Supreme Court of India had issued guidelines regarding quashing of Criminal Proceedings on the ground of compromise between the parties.

The Gujarat High Court in the present observed,

"It emerges that at the time of the alleged incident, the applicant, along with her two minor daughters was residing separately from the complainant and due to severe frustration on the part of the applicant, she has tried to commit suicide and administer the poisonous substance to her two children. It also appears that there was a family dispute between the applicant and respondent No.2 as husband and wife. Thus, in this peculiar fact, the FIR came to be lodged by the husband against his wife."

Further, the court remarked,

"In view of the settlement between the parties, there is no chance of any conviction and, therefore, the present application is required to be allowed."

Consequently, the bench said,

"In the result, the application is allowed. The FIR bearing C. R. No. Part-A/112100042001003 of 2020 registered before Amroli Police Station, District: Surat for the offence under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code as well as all consequential proceedings thereof are hereby quashed and set aside." (emphasis supplied)

Lastly, the court remarked,

"It is hereby observed that if the applicant desires to avail the benefit under the Mahila Gruh Udyog, she may engage herself with the Mahila Gruh Udyog (Suman Mahila Gruh Udyog, Shanti Bhavan, Opposite Rander Road, Behind Navyug Arts College, Surat) at her discretion."

Case Details:

Case Title: Lataben Jiteshbhai Lathiya v. State Of Gujarat

Case No.: R/Criminal Misc. Application No. 10288 of 2020

Quorum: Justice A. P. Thaker

Appearance: Advocate Hardik A. Dave (for the Applicant); APP Maithili Mehta (for the respondent-State); Advocate Pawan A. Barot (for the respondent no.2)

Click Here To Download Order

[Read Order]