Dv case after being acquitted in 498a/406/506(2)
Nagarajan
(Querist) 28 October 2022
This query is : Resolved
I was married in 2016. Wife left to her mother's home for delivery in Nov 2017. Thereafter I filed restitution for conjugal rights in April 2018 after child was born in Feb 2018. Wife filed private complaint to Judicial magistrate under CrPC 156(3) and upon orders FIR was registered on me and my parents. Criminal charges under 498a/406/506(2) was framed in Aug 2019. Thereafter she filed Maintenance under CrPC 125 in 2020 and same is pending. Meanwhile, I not pressed the restitution for conjugal rights as the situation was not encouraging to continue married life with her. Now in 2022, the criminal case trial was completed and we were acquitted. After which I have filed a divorce case under section 13 (1) & 13 (2) under HMA. Now after all these my wife filed DV case against in the same court where the criminal trial was conducted. How to handle this situation?
Is section 300 CrPC applicable for the same incidents. One is criminal charges under 498a/406/506(2) and being acquitted. Another new DV case upon same incidents.
Please suggest way out of this repeated litigations
S.JEEVAGAN, Madurai.
(Expert) 21 November 2023
Dear Querist,
Your case does not come under the term of "double jeopardy". It is, therefore, not covered by Section 300 of Cr.P.C.
DV case is civil in nature but conducted in Magistrate court. It becomes criminal in nature only when you disobey the orders passed by the Magistrate Court directing you to provide maintenance to your wife and child or to provide residencial protection to your wife, etc.
If you feel that DV case has been filed without any sufficient material against you only to harass you and your family members, you can very well approach the jurisdictional High Court for quashing the DV case under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.
