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Reji Baby v. Subi Mary

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 918Decided 24 Aug 2026
Criminal Appeal No. 1346 of 2021
Justice Sandeep Mehta · Justice Manmohan · Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah

Background

A husband (Reji Baby) and his wife (Subi Mary) settled their disputes in 2016, with the wife agreeing in writing to give up all future monetary and maintenance claims against him, and the couple obtained a mutual-consent divorce in 2017 on that basis. Despite this, the wife and daughter later filed a complaint against the husband under the Domestic Violence Act, which the Kerala High Court refused to quash. The husband appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing the settlement barred any revival of these claims.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that once the wife had voluntarily and knowingly relinquished her monetary claims, through both a signed settlement agreement and a sworn affidavit before the Family Court, she could not revive those very claims through fresh Domestic Violence Act proceedings without first legally challenging the settlement or divorce decree itself. Mere unproven allegations of duress, without any formal legal challenge to the settlement, were not enough to get around it. However, the Court carved out an exception for the daughter, who was not a party to the settlement and had not personally waived her right to claim monetary relief, so she remains free to pursue her own claims separately.

Lesson Learnt

A validly signed settlement agreement and sworn affidavit waiving future claims will generally be enforced by courts, and a person cannot simply reopen settled monetary disputes through a new complaint without formally challenging the settlement itself; but a settlement only binds the people who actually signed it.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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