.jpeg)
The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for high courts to quash criminal proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, observing that though the law is predominantly of civil nature meant to secure married women against harassment and violence, serious consequences affecting liberty of individuals follow when a person is arrested and sentenced under the law.
“We hold that high courts can exercise power under Section 482 of CrPC (Section 528 of the BNSS) for quashing the proceedings emanating from the application under Section 12(1) of the DV Act, 2005, pending before the court of the Magistrate,” a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said.
The bench, however, clarified that this power available to high courts should be exercised with “caution” and “circumspection” warranted only in the case of preventing gross illegality or injustice.
“Setting criminal law in motion has very serious consequences affecting the liberty of a human being, as the person against whom criminal law is set in motion can be arrested and sentenced to undergo imprisonment,” the bench said.
The court order came in an appeal filed by a family in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh challenging the registration of a case under the DV Act against the husband, parents-in-law and brother-in-law of a woman, who filed a complaint against them in 2022. The aggrieved persons had approached the Madhya Pradesh high court bench at Indore, which refused to quash the case on May 9, 2024, citing the established law that does not permit exercise of power under Section 482 CrPC in cases under DV Act.
The top court directed the petition to be restored before the MP high court to be decided afresh.
Justice Oka, who authored the judgment, referred to the fact that while sitting in the Bombay high court he had decided a case in October 2016 holding that Section 482 is not maintainable in a case under section 12(1) of DV Act. The decision, however, was later overturned by a full bench of the high court.
“As judges, we are duty-bound to correct our mistakes in properly constituted proceedings. Even for judges, the learning process always continues,” justice Oka said.
The top court also cautioned that this power is to be exercised sparingly as otherwise it may defeat the very purpose of the legislation. It said: “The high court has to keep in mind the fact that the DV Act, 2005 is a welfare legislation specially enacted to give justice to those women who suffer from domestic violence and for preventing acts of domestic violence...”
