The Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran Quashes FIR Over False Claims on Husband’s Skin Condition, Qualification
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has allowed an appeal and quashed a First Information Report (FIR) filed against a man and his family by his estranged wife, terming the case as a clear “abuse of process of law.”
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The Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran Quashes FIR Over False Claims on Husband’s Skin Condition, Qualification
The case arose from an FIR registered on 30th September 2023 by the wife (Respondent No. 2), who was married to the husband (Appellant No. 1) on 10th April 2023. They lived together as husband and wife for approximately four months.
During the course of the relationship, the wife alleged that she was misled into marrying the husband, believing that he was an Eye Surgeon. However, she later found out he was actually an Optometrist. Furthermore, she raised issues about his skin condition—leukoderma, a visible skin disease affecting the face and hands.
The FIR claimed that the wife discovered the husband’s real profession only on 21st May 2023, during their wedding reception. She stated that the invitation card listed his qualification as “B.Sc.” and not as a professional Eye Surgeon.
“She married Appellant No. 1 because he was an Eye Surgeon, but he turned out to be an ‘Optometrist’ (a healthcare provider who specializes in caring for eyes, examining, diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders that affect vision).”
However, the Supreme Court noted that the claims made in the FIR were baseless. Upon examining the evidence and documents, the Court observed that the wife was already aware of the husband’s skin condition and his real professional qualifications before their wedding.
“From all reasonable assumptions as well as the documents which have been placed before us, it is clear that the complainant had full knowledge that the appellant was suffering from skin disease and he was not an Eye Surgeon, but an Optometrist.”
The bench further noted that the wife was pursuing her M.Com degree at the time of marriage and had married the appellant against her parents’ wishes. WhatsApp chats between the couple were presented before the Court and were not disputed by either side. These chats showed that there was no attempt by the husband to mislead his wife about either his health or his educational qualifications.
“From the WhatsApp chats which has been shown to us; not disputed, it is clear that there was no effort on the part of the appellant to disguise or befool the complainant regarding his skin disease or regarding his qualification.”
The Court concluded that the complaint and subsequent FIR appeared to be driven by “extraneous reasons” and not supported by factual evidence.
“The FIR has been filed totally for extraneous reasons.”
The Supreme Court criticized the Gujarat High Court for not using its authority under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows the High Court to quash false or malicious criminal proceedings.
“This is a befitting case where the High Court should have exercised its powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code and should have quashed the proceedings as this is nothing but an abuse of process of law.”
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the order of the Gujarat High Court dated 22nd July 2024, and quashed all criminal proceedings against the appellants.
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“Thus, for the reasons stated above, we quash the criminal proceedings against the appellant(s) and set aside the impugned order passed by the High Court. The appeal stands allowed.”
Any pending interlocutory applications related to the case were also disposed of.
Case Name: Rohan & Others vs. State of Gujarat & Another
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