Gujarat High Court
Diwan Snehalben Yunushbhai vs Diwan Yunusshah Rasulshah on 27 June, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/SCR.A/1175/2014 ORDER DATED: 27/06/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION (QUASHING) NO. 1175 of 2014
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DIWAN SNEHALBEN YUNUSHBHAI
Versus
DIWAN YUNUSSHAH RASULSHAH & ORS.
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Appearance:
HCLS COMMITTEE(4998) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
KHUSHBU H DANECHA(7099) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR BC DAVE(245) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
MR. CHINTAN DAVE, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 10
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J. C. DOSHI
Date : 27/06/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned advocate Ms. Khushbu Danecha for the
petitioner, learned advocate Mr. B.C. Dave for the private
respondents, and learned APP Mr. Chintan Dave for the
respondent-State.
2. In the present petition filed under Article 227 of the
Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the concurrent
findings of the courts below rendered in proceedings initiated under
Sections 18, 19, 20, and 22 of the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short, ” the Act”). The learned trial
Court, after appreciating the evidence on record, was pleased to
partly allow the petition against original opponent No.1 and
directed him to pay Rs.2,000/- per month from the date of the
petition under Section 19 of the Act, and further awarded
Rs.15,000/- as compensation under Section 22 of the Act. The other
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reliefs claimed under Sections 18 and 20 were rejected. The petition
was dismissed as against original opponents Nos. 2 to 9, who are
the in-laws of the petitioner. The appellate Court, in Criminal
Appeal No. 18 of 2013, confirmed the said findings. The present
petition under Article 227 of the Constitution has been filed to
challenge those concurrent findings.
3. Learned advocate Ms. Khushbu Danecha fairly submitted that
the husband of the petitioner has expired. She further submitted
the courts below have committed a serious error in dismissing the
petition as against the other respondents. She contended that there
was ample evidence on record to indicate that the petitioner was
subjected to domestic violence at the hands of the private
respondents, and yet no relief was granted against original
opponents Nos. 2 to 4, which amounts to a grave error of law.
4. Based on the above submissions, learned advocate Ms.
Danecha prays for the petition to be allowed.
5. Per contra, learned advocate Mr. B.C. Dave, appearing for the
private respondents, submitted that there is no evidence on record
to indicate that the petitioner was subjected to domestic violence at
the hands of the private respondents. Mr. Dave further submitted
that the courts below have thoroughly appreciated the evidence and
recorded concurrent findings of fact. Therefore, in the limited
supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of
India, this Court may not be inclined to interfere with such
concurrent findings.
6. Learned APP Mr. Chintan Dave, while adopting the
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submissions advanced by learned advocate Mr. B.C. Dave,
submitted that an appropriate order may be passed in accordance
with law.
7. Having heard learned advocates for the respective parties, at
the outset, let refer the nature of scope of the supervisory
jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, which is
enlightened in case of Garment Crafts Vs. Prakash Chand Goel
reported in (2022) 4 SCC 181, wherein the Hon’ble Apex Court in
para 15 and 16, held as under:-
“15. Having heard the counsel for the parties, we are clearly of
the view that the impugned order is contrary to law and cannot
be sustained for several reasons, but primarily for deviation from
the limited jurisdiction exercised by the High Court under Article
227 of the Constitution of India. The High Court exercising
supervisory jurisdiction does not act as a court of first appeal to
reappreciate, reweigh the evidence or facts upon which the
determination under challenge is based. Supervisory jurisdiction is
not to correct every error of fact or even a legal flaw when the
final finding is justified or can be supported. The High Court is
not to substitute its own decision on facts and conclusion, for that
of the inferior court or tribunal [Celina Coelho Pereira (Ms) and
Others v. Ulhas Mahabaleshwar Kholkar and Others, (2010) 1 SCC
217]. The jurisdiction exercised is in the nature of correctional1
jurisdiction to set right grave dereliction of duty or flagrant abuse,
violation of fundamental principles of law or justice. The power
under Article 227 is exercised sparingly in appropriate cases, like
when there is no evidence at all to justify, or the finding is so
perverse that no reasonable person can possibly come to such a
conclusion that the court or tribunal has come to. It is axiomatic
that such discretionary relief must be exercised to ensure there is
no miscarriage of justice.
16. Explaining the scope of jurisdiction under Article 227, this
Court in Estralla Rubber v. Dass Estate (P) Ltd., (2001) 8 SCC 97
has observed:-
“6. The scope and ambit of exercise of power and jurisdiction by
a High Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is
examined and explained in a number of decisions of this Court.
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The exercise of power under this article involves a duty on the
High Court to keep inferior courts and tribunals within the
bounds of their authority and to see that they do the duty
expected or required of them in a legal manner. The High Court
is not vested with any unlimited prerogative to correct all kinds of
hardship or wrong decisions made within the limits of the
jurisdiction of the subordinate courts or tribunals. Exercise of this
power and interfering with the orders of the courts or tribunals is
restricted to cases of serious dereliction of duty and flagrant
violation of fundamental principles of law or justice, where if the
High Court does not interfere, a grave injustice remains
uncorrected. It is also well settled that the High Court while
acting under this article cannot exercise its power as an appellate
court or substitute its own judgment in place of that of the
subordinate court to correct an error, which is not apparent on
the face of the record. The High Court can set aside or ignore the
findings of facts of an inferior court or tribunal, if there is no
evidence at all to justify or the finding is so perverse, that no
reasonable person can possibly come to such a conclusion, which
the court or tribunal has come to.”
7.1. Applying aforesaid ratio, let examine that whether in case on
hand petitioner proves that if this Court would not interfere, a
grave injustice shall remain uncorrected.
8. It is an undisputed fact that the petitioner filed the present
proceedings against her husband and in-laws, seeking various
reliefs by making general and omnibus allegations against original
opponents Nos. 2 to 9. Upon perusal of the impugned judgment
passed by the learned trial Court, which has been confirmed by the
appellate Court, it appears that no specific or cogent evidence has
been brought on record by the petitioner to establish that she was
subjected to domestic violence at the hands of the in-laws, who
include the married sister-in-law, her husband, and the maternal
uncle of original opponent No.1 — all of whom, admittedly, were
residing separately even prior to the petitioner’s marriage with
opponent No.1.
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9. The learned trial Court has thoroughly examined the
evidence, particularly in paragraphs 28 and 29 of the impugned
judgment, and was pleased to partly allow the petition by granting
relief only against the husband under Sections 19 and 22 of the Act,
while rejecting the remaining prayers, particularly those made under
Sections 18 and 20 of the Act. In the appeal preferred under Section
29 of the Act, the learned appellate Court has reappreciated the
evidence and recorded detailed reasons in paragraph 10 of the
judgment. Upon careful consideration of the concurrent findings
recorded by both the courts below, I find no ground to interfere
with the same while exercising the limited supervisory jurisdiction
under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.
10. Learned advocate Ms. Khushbu H. Danecha, could not point
out any evidence on record to showcase substance of any specific
allegation or attribution to offending Act. At this juncture finding
and observation of Apex Court in case of Geddam Jhansi And
Another v. State of Telangana And Others reported in 2025 SC 1578
is as under:-
“31. Invoking criminal process is a serious matter with
penal consequences involving coercive measures, which
can be permitted only when specific act(s) which
constitute offences punishable under the penal code or
any other penal statute are alleged or attributed to the
accused and a prima facie case is made out. It applies with
equal force when criminal laws are invoked in domestic
disputes. Criminalising domestic disputes without specific
allegations and credible materials to support the same may
have disastrous consequences for the institution of family,
which is built on the premise of love, affection, cordiality
and mutual trust. Institution of family constitutes the core
of human society. Domesticrelationships, such as thosePage 5 of 8
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between family members, are guided by deeply ingrained
social values and cultural expectations. These relationships
are often viewed as sacred, demanding a higher level of
respect, commitment, and emotional investment compared
to other social or professional associations. For the
aforesaid reason, preservation of family relationship has
always been emphasised upon. Thus, when family
relationships are sought to be brought within the ambit of
criminal proceedings rupturing the family bond, courts
should be circumspect and judicious, and should allow
invocation of criminal process only when there are specific
allegations with supporting materials which clearly
constitute criminal offences.
32. We have to keep in mind that in the context of
matrimonial disputes, emotions run high, and as such in
the complaints filed alleging harassment or domestic
violence, there may be a tendency to implicate other
members of the family who do not come to the rescue of
the complainant or remain mute spectators to any alleged
incident of harassment, which in our view cannot by itself
constitute a criminal act without there being specific acts
attributed to them. Further, when tempers run high and
relationships turn bitter, there is also a propensity to
exaggerate the allegations, which does not necessarily
mean that such domestic disputes should be given the
colour of criminality.
33. It goes without saying that genuine cases of cruelty
and violence in domestic sphere, which do happen, ought
to be handled with utmost sensitivity. Domestic violence
typically happens within the four walls of the house and
not in the public gaze. Therefore, such violence is not
noticed by public at large, except perhaps by the
immediate neighbours. Thus, providing visible evidence
by the victim of domestic violence may not be easily
forthcoming and producing direct evidence may be hard
and arduous, which does not necessarily mean that
domestic violence does not occur. In fact, to deal with this
pernicious phenomenon, stringent statutes like Protection
from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, have been enacted
with very expansive meaning and scope of what amounts
to domestic violence. Since, violence perpetrated within
the domestic sphere by close relatives is now criminalisedPage 6 of 8
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entailing serious consequences on the perpetrators, the
courts have to be careful while dealing with such cases by
examining whether there are specific allegations with
instances against the perpetrators and not generalised
allegations. The purpose and mandate of the law to
protect the victims of domestic violence is of paramount
importance, and as such, a balance has to be struck by
ensuring that while perpetrators are brought to book, all
the family members or relatives are not indiscriminately
brought within the criminal net in a sweeping manner.
34. For a matrimonial relationship which is founded on the
basis of cordiality and trust to turn sour to an extent to
make a partner to hurl allegations of domestic violence
and harassment against the other partner, would normally
not happen at the spur of the moment and such
acrimonious relationship would develop only in course of
time. Accordingly, such a situation would be the
culmination of a series of acts which turns, otherwise an
amicable relationship, into a fractured one. Thus, in such
cases involving allegations of domestic violence or
harassment, there would normally be a series of offending
acts, which would be required to be spelt out by the
complainant against the perpetrators in specific terms to
rope such perpetrators in the criminal proceedings sought
to be initiated against them. Thus, mere general allegation
of harassment without pointing out the specifics against
such perpetrators would not suffice, as is the case in
respect of the present appellants.
35. We are, thus, of the view that in criminal cases relating
to domestic violence, the complaints and charges should
be specific, as far as possible, as against each and every
member of the family who are accused of such offences
and sought to be prosecuted, as otherwise, it may amount
to misuse of the stringent criminal process by
indiscriminately dragging all the members of the family.
There may be situations where some of the family
members or relatives may turn a blind eye to the violence
or harassment perpetrated to the victim, and may not
extend any helping hand to the victim, which does not
necessarily mean that they are also perpetrators of
domestic violence, unless the circumstances clearly
indicate their involvement and instigation. Hence,Page 7 of 8
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implicating all such relatives without making specific
allegations and attributing offending acts to them and
proceeding against them without prima facie evidence that
they were complicit and had actively collaborated with the
perpetrators of domestic violence, would amount to abuse
of the process of law.”
11. The finding of Apex Court deprecating to invoke other
members of husband’s family without establishing active
involvement or collaboration in perpetuating of domestic violence.
As stated earlier apart from generalized and vague allegations and
without having any evidence, nothing more is brought on record.
12. In view of the foregoing discussion, the petitioner has failed
to demonstrate that the learned trial Court has exercised jurisdiction
erroneously or exceeded its jurisdiction while passing the impugned
orders. Under the circumstances, the present petition is devoid of
merits and does not warrant interference under Article 227 of the
Constitution of India.
13. Accordingly, the present petition is DISMISSED. Accepting the
statement made by the learned advocates for both sides regarding
the demise of opponent No.1, the petition stands disposed of as
abated qua opponent No.1, and stands dismissed qua the remaining
respondents.
(J. C. DOSHI,J)
MANISH MISHRA
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