The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a man seeking to withdraw the First Information Report (FIR) filed by his estranged wife, for defamation. The court ruled that the allegations cannot be dismissed without a trial, saying that it is not the court’s duty to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the evidence at this time.
The case was heard by a bench consisting of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Rajesh Patil. The petitioner, who is a husband, requested the court to quash the FIR registered by his wife at the Kasturba police station in Mumbai.
The FIR alleges that the couple, who had a love marriage with a 10-year-old son, had been having marital disputes for more than a year. Although they lived in the same place, the wife lived in the bedroom while the husband lived in the hall.
According to the FIR report, on the night of February 26, 2024, and the early hours of February 27, 2024, the husband entered the wife’s room without permission, started an argument, and allegedly started abusing and insulting her. The wife says that the husband touched her inappropriately during the argument, and their son was present. He also revealed that the suspect took away his cell phone after recording parts of the incident.
In response, the husband denied that these allegations are false and are fueled by their ongoing disputes. He stated that the FIR was intended to harass him and demanded its dismissal.
The court, however, said that the matter required a detailed examination during the trial and would not be withdrawn at this time. It offered the applicant an opportunity to withdraw his application, but he refused, asking for a formal order.
In its decision, the court said, “We do not find that we can conduct a small test in this process to conclude or give an opinion or conclusion that the content of FIRE is completely false and FIRE should be terminated.”