NRI case: HC disparages trend of ‘harassment via FIRs’ in matrimonial disputes
The court emphasised that such actions are unethical and clog the justice system with vexatious cases, burdening already overworked courts
The Punjab and Haryana high court has strongly condemned the practice of non-resident Indians (NRIs) or their relatives filing domestic violence cases in India with the intention to harass the opposite party. The court emphasised that such actions are unethical and clog the justice system with vexatious cases, burdening already overworked courts.
The bench, led by justice Harpreet Singh Brar, referred to this behaviour as a blatant abuse of the legal process, that must be addressed.
The bench referred to a case where an FIR was filed in February 2019 under Morinda police station in Punjab’s Ropar. The woman got married to an Australian NRI in 2011. After seven months, she also moved to Australia. Later, they developed differences, and the woman filed for divorce in Australia in 2017, which was finalised in 2019 with a mutual settlement. The woman’s father filed a complaint in 2017, which turned into the FIR in 2019, accusing her husband’s family of demanding a dowry of ₹10 lakh and a car.
The high court noted that the woman did not report any domestic violence during her seven-month stay in India after marriage. Furthermore, she had previously signed an undertaking in the Australian court, stating that both parties were releasing each other from any further legal proceedings, both in India and Australia. The court also pointed out that the complaint was filed six to seven years after the alleged incidents, which was beyond the legal time limit for initiating such proceedings in India, making the FIR unsustainable.
The court quashed the FIR, observing that an increasing number of NRI couples who have already settled their disputes abroad are being subjected to harassment by the initiation of criminal cases in India.
The court held that when a divorce and related matters have been resolved by the courts in the country of residence, it is inappropriate to initiate parallel legal proceedings in India to satisfy personal grievances. The court emphasised that the sanctity of the judicial process should not be undermined by malicious litigants using the system to oppress others.