Arshad and Ors. Vs the State Govt of NCT of Delhi and Anr. — Dowry and Cruelty | Delhi HC (2026)

Arshad and Ors. Vs the State Govt of NCT of Delhi and Anr. — Dowry and Cruelty | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition allowed; FIR No. 345/2022 dated 24.05.2022 registered at PS.: Welcome under Sections 498A/406/354/34 of the IPC read with Section 4 of the DP Act and all proceedings emanating therefrom quashed; petition disposed of in the aforesaid terms.

Issue for consideration

Whether FIR No. 345/2022 dated 24.05.2022 registered at PS.: Welcome under Sections 498A/406/354/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and all proceedings emanating therefrom, should be quashed in view of the settlement (Memorandum of Understanding dated 23.08.2025) between petitioner no.1 and respondent no.2, who are living together amicably.

Court's answer

Following the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Jitendra Raghuvanshi (2013) 4 SCC 58, Gian Singh (2012) 10 SCC 303 and Narinder Singh (2014) 6 SCC 466, since the parties have voluntarily arrived at a settlement and are living together amicably, and there is nothing left to corroborate and prove the case of the prosecution, continuation of FIR No. 345/2022 against the petitioner will be an exercise in futility.

Ratio / Principle

Having voluntarily arrived at a settlement and filed their respective affidavits along with the present petition, the parties shall remain bound by all the terms and conditions of the settlement arrived inter se themselves.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

CRL.M.C. 2048/2026, High Court of Delhi at New Delhi, order dated 19.03.2026, Saurabh Banerjee, J. By a petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the petitioners sought quashing of FIR No. 345/2022 dated 24.05.2022 registered at PS.: Welcome under Sections 498A/406/354/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and all proceedings emanating therefrom. Petitioner no.1 and respondent no.2 had settled all their disputes, with terms reduced to writing in a Memorandum of Understanding dated 23.08.2025 (Annexure 'C'), were living together amicably, and had filed affidavits along with the petition; both were identified by the IO, and the learned APP for the State as well as respondent no.2 (present in Court) raised no objection to the quashing. Following the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Jitendra Raghuvanshi (2013) 4 SCC 58, Gian Singh (2012) 10 SCC 303 and Narinder Singh (2014) 6 SCC 466, the court held that, since there was nothing left to corroborate and prove the case of the prosecution, continuation of the FIR would be an exercise in futility, and that the parties shall remain bound by all the terms and conditions of the settlement arrived inter se themselves. The FIR and all proceedings emanating therefrom were quashed; the petition was allowed and disposed of accordingly.

$~71

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- CRL.M.C. 2048/2026

ARSHAD AND ORS .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Sunil Yadav, Adv. (through VC) with petitioners in person.

versus

THE STATE GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI AND ANR

.....Respondents Through: Mr. Raghuinder Verma, APP for the State with Mr. Aditya Vikram Singh and Ms. Upasana Bakshi, Advocates with SI Vikram Singh, PS.: Welcome. Mr. B. W. Lohia, Adv. for R-2

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SAURABH BANERJEE

O R D E R

% 19.03.2026

By virtue of the present petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ( BNSS ), the petitioners seek quashing of the FIR No. 345/2022 dated 24.05.2022 registered at PS.: Welcome under Sections 498A/406/354/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ( IPC ) read with Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 ( DP Act ) and all proceedings emanating therefrom since the petitioner no.1 and respondent no.2 have settled all their disputes, the terms whereof are reduced to writing in Memorandum of Understanding dated 23.08.2025 [ Annexure ‘C’ ] as also they are living together amicably, which is accompanied by their respective proofs of identities.

Issue notice. Learned APP for the State accepts notice, and submits,

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/03/2026 at 10:26:48

that he has no objection to the quashing of the aforesaid FIR.

Respondent no.2, present in Court, also accepts notice and affirms the terms of the aforesaid Memorandum of Understanding and submits that she has no objection to the quashing of the aforesaid FIR as the petitioner no.1 and she are living together amicably. 4. The petitioners and the respondent no.2, present in Court, as well as their credentials, as on record, have been identified by the IO. 5. Facts disclose that the parties are now living together amicably and have voluntarily arrived at a settlement, and thus have filed their respective affidavit(s) along with the present petition. As such, the parties shall remain bound by all the terms and conditions of the settlement arrived inter se themselves. Thus, following the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Jitendra Raghuvanshi & Ors. vs. Babita Raguvanshi & Anr. (2013) 4 SCC 58 , Gian Singh vs. State of Punjab & Anr. (2012) 10 SCC 303 and Narinder Singh & Ors. vs. State of Punjab & Anr. (2014) 6 SCC 466 , since there is nothing left to corroborate and prove the case of the prosecution, continuation of the aforesaid FIR against the petitioner will be an exercise in futility.

Resultantly, the present petition is allowed and FIR No. 345/2022 dated 24.05.2022 registered at PS.: Welcome under Sections 498A/406/354/34 of the IPC read with Section 4 of the DP Act and all proceedings emanating therefrom are hereby quashed. 7. Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms.

SAURABH BANERJEE, J.

MARCH 19, 2026/ bh

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/03/2026 at 10:26:48