Bombay High Court: Wife's Withdrawal of Mutual Divorce Consent Is Not Abuse of Legal Process
The Bombay High Court has ruled that a wife's decision to withdraw consent for a mutual divorce cannot be seen as an abuse of the legal process. The court emphasized that the Hindu Marriage Act allows either party to reconsider their decision at any stage before the final divorce decree.
Case Overview
In the case of Petitioner vs. The State of Maharashtra & Anr (Criminal Writ Petition No. 2638 of 2022), a division bench consisting of Justice A. S. Gadkari and Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale examined a petition from a husband seeking to quash criminal charges filed by his wife. These charges included allegations of cruelty and dowry harassment under Sections 498-A and 406 of the IPC, stemming from a troubled marriage that began in 2015.
Key Events
In 2022, both parties initially agreed to a mutual divorce, signing a settlement that involved monetary payments and property transfers to the wife. However, before the final divorce decree, the wife withdrew her consent, citing coercion and non-compliance with the settlement by her husband. The husband argued that this withdrawal was a breach of their agreement and an abuse of the legal system, seeking to dismiss the criminal charges as retaliatory.
Court's Observations and Ruling
The court upheld the wife's right to withdraw consent, referring to the Supreme Court's decision in Sureshta Devi Om Prakash (1991), which stated that mutual consent must be maintained throughout the divorce proceedings. The judges highlighted that the Hindu Marriage Act includes a "cooling-off" period, allowing either party to reconsider their decision.
They also observed that the husband had failed to honor the settlement terms, justifying the wife's decision to halt the divorce process. The court ruled that her actions did not invalidate her right to pursue criminal charges, which should be properly examined during a trial.
Conclusion
The High Court dismissed the husband's petition, affirming:
The wife's withdrawal of consent was a legal right under the Hindu Marriage Act, not an abuse of process.
Allegations of cruelty and harassment required examination in court and could not be dismissed prematurely.
The court lifted the temporary stay on the trial, allowing the criminal case to proceed, reinforcing the importance of due process in sensitive marital disputes.
