Bombay High Court quashes FIR against doctor husband after wife admits misunderstanding due to stress during pandemic

New Delhi (ILNS): The Bombay High Court has quashed an FIR lodged by a wife against her husband alleging that her husband’s marital life was severely affected by the stress of overwork in the early days of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The court quashed the FIR after mutual consent. The division bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik, citing the FIR, expressed happiness that the couple decided to patch up and move on. The lawyer informed the court about this, after which the judges said that he himself wanted to talk to the couple.

After interacting with the wife through videoconferencing, the bench said that it was satisfied that it was her voluntary act seeking quashing of the FIR. The bench also wanted to talk to her husband, but the wife, who lives in Pune, said that her husband works in a government hospital and was on duty.

The wife stated that she was under great stress in March and April when work related to Coronovirus in hospitals increased. She said: “We were working 18 hours every day.” There was a lot of misunderstanding due to this, which resulted in registering a case of domestic violence against her husband.

The wife, who works as a microbiologist, said that they had been married for 20 years and had two children. The court asked the wife whether she had decided to settle the case by herself. The wife said that yes, it is a decision taken by herself. She returned to live in her house with her husband and children in September.

Justice Shinde, while referring to one of his friends who work in a government hospital, reflected upon how stressed everyone was during the epidemic. He said: “We greatly respect the doctors and their work in such times.”

The bench said that the court is ready to quash the FIR. The court also wished the couple good luck for the future.

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