Delhi HC partly quashes criminal proceedings against US-based doctor in matrimonial dispute

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has partly quashed criminal proceedings against a US-based doctor in a matrimonial dispute, holding that the allegation regarding non-return of the wife’s jewellery did not constitute criminal breach of trust. However, the court allowed the proceedings relating to alleged cruelty and harassment to continue against the husband and his relatives. 

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the doctor’s wife in 2019, in which she alleged dowry demands, repeated abuse, physical and sexual cruelty, and the non-return of her jewellery. Based on the complaint, the police registered an FIR and filed a final report against the husband.

Justice Madhu Jain observed that these allegations, if accepted at face value, appeared to reveal a case of cruelty and harassment.

Meanwhile, the High Court found that the allegations of cruelty were specific and could not be dismissed at the stage of examining the husband’s plea to quash the case.

The court observed, “The woman has specifically alleged repeated insults and abuse, demands for an Innova vehicle and money, payment of Rs 7 lakh to the petitioner’s brother, a demand of approximately Rs 16-17 crore for the purchase of land for further establishment of a hospital for the petitioner, and acts of physical and sexual cruelty”, The Indian Express reports.  

The doctor had approached the High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR and the criminal proceedings arising from it. The court also examined the couple’s marital and legal history.

The couple got married in 2007 but subsequently began living separately. The wife’s application for a spousal visa to the US was rejected in 2010. The husband later initiated annulment proceedings in Missouri, where the marriage was annulled in 2015. He subsequently filed matrimonial proceedings before a Delhi family court in 2018, but those proceedings were subsequently withdrawn.

The High Court held that the annulment order, visa records and related communications did not conclusively disprove the wife’s allegations of cruelty. The court further observed that cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code could constitute a continuing offence, with each alleged act of cruelty providing a fresh starting point for limitation, reports the Daily.

The High Court found that the allegations of cruelty were specific and sufficient to warrant continuation of the proceedings. The court said the allegations, if accepted at face value at this stage, disclosed a case of cruelty and harassment. Whether they are ultimately proved will be decided during the trial.

The court, however, found that the criminal breach of trust allegation relating to the jewellery was not legally supported. According to the complaint, the jewellery had allegedly been handed over to the husband’s sister-in-law. There was no specific allegation that it had later come into the husband’s possession or control.

The High Court therefore quashed the proceedings concerning criminal breach of trust while allowing the allegations of cruelty and harassment to proceed. It clarified that the remaining allegations would have to be tested by the trial court.