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Shafiya Khan @ Shakuntala Prajapati vs State of U.P.

Not available · 2022 INSC 174Decided 10 Feb 2022
Not available
Ajay Rastogi · Abhay S. Oka

Background

The appellant's first (child) marriage was never consummated and was later annulled by both families; she subsequently married Mohd. Shameem Khan under Sharia law in 2016 with a registered Nikah Nama, had a son, and was widowed in 2017 when her husband died. She obtained a compassionate government job and her husband's terminal dues, but was later thrown out of her matrimonial home by her brother-in-law, who then filed a complaint alleging bigamy, forgery and other offences against her more than a year later. A charge-sheet followed, and the Allahabad High Court declined to quash the proceedings under Section 482 CrPC.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court, applying the well-established guidelines from State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal on when criminal proceedings may be quashed, found that the complaint contained only "bald allegations" with no supporting material: her second marriage's Nikah Nama was duly registered by a competent authority, her deceased husband had never complained about her during his lifetime, and the charge-sheet did not disclose how the marriage certificate was supposedly forged. The Court held that allowing the prosecution to continue in these circumstances would amount to a clear abuse of the process of law and unwarranted mental harassment of a sole breadwinner caring for a minor child. The appeal was allowed and the FIR and all proceedings arising from it were quashed.

Lesson Learnt

Criminal courts must look for actual supporting material behind an FIR's allegations, not just take them at face value: vague or unsubstantiated complaints, especially those filed long after the events and coinciding with disputes over money or property, can and should be quashed as an abuse of the legal process.

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

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