Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant N Nagrale (Express photo) The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with a Bombay High Court order rejecting a plea by Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant N Nagrale seeking quashing of an application moved by his wife under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
A bench of Justice U U Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat instead transferred the proceedings from a Pune court to the Bombay High Court where her appeal against the divorce granted to them by a family court is pending and asked the high court to dispose it as early as possible.
The Supreme Court also granted the police commissioner special leave to appeal against another order of the high court rejecting his plea seeking quashing of a separate criminal complaint filed by his wife against him and certain others in the Court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), Mumbai.
In its December 13 order, the apex court asked the Bombay High Court to consider disposing of the wife’s appeal against the divorce and his application against the invoking of Domestic Violence Act proceedings “as early as possible and preferably within six months”.
Allowing an application filed by the IPS officer, the Family Court in Mumbai had dissolved the couple’s marriage on February 25, 2011 but directed him to pay Rs 20,000 to her as maintenance every month.
After the divorce order, Nagrale’s wife lodged a complaint on August 30, 2012 in the ACMM court against him, two doctors and two nurses alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 498A, 323, 328, 341, 307, 504, 506(2) read with Sections 34 and 120B of the Indian penal Code.
On September 20, 2013 she also approached a Pune court, seeking appropriate protection order under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act against Nagrale, prohibiting him from committing any act of domestic violence.
Nagrale moved the high court seeking quashing of complaints filed by his wife before the ACMM court as well as proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act. The high court rejected the plea, following which he approached the Supreme Court.
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