Court exercises inherent powers to prevent abuse of judicial process and secure justice
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court has quashed a complaint filed by a woman alleging sexual exploitation and financial fraud by the respondents, invoking its inherent powers to prevent abuse of the judicial process. The judgment delivered by Justice Subhash Vidyarthi emphasized the court's duty to intervene in cases where proceedings are frivolous and do not constitute any offense.
The case stemmed from an appeal filed by the complainant, a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste, challenging an order by the Special Judge, SC/ST Act, Lakhimpur Kheri, which treated her application under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) as a complaint instead of ordering the registration of a First Information Report (FIR).
The complainant alleged that she was sexually exploited by the respondent under the pretext of recovering her husband's undisclosed money. However, the court found these allegations improbable and strange, noting that the complainant's husband, who was directly involved in the financial transaction, did not take any legal action to recover his money. The court observed that the allegations did not constitute any offense under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, or any other law.
Justice Vidyarthi highlighted the court's inherent powers under Section 528 of BNSS, which allows the High Court to prevent abuse of the court's process and secure the ends of justice. The court cited several Supreme Court judgments underscoring the importance of exercising these powers in cases of frivolous litigation to prevent unwarranted persecution and waste of judicial resources.
The court also noted the disturbing trend of filing frivolous and vexatious claims to settle personal scores, urging courts to be cautious in distinguishing genuine cases from those meant to harass the opposite party.
Ultimately, the court set aside the order of the Special Judge and quashed the entire proceedings instituted on the basis of the complainant's application, thereby preventing an abuse of the judicial process and securing justice.
Bottom Line:
Abuse of process of law - Frivolous and vexatious complaints do not warrant judicial time. High Court has inherent powers to quash proceedings even suo motu to secure the ends of justice and prevent misuse of the judicial process.
Statutory provision(s):
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Sections 528, 173, Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Section 14A
