In Brief
A wife filed a criminal complaint three and a half years after marital separation, alleging that her husband and mother-in-law had misappropriated her stridhan (dowry articles). The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision to quash the proceedings under Section 498A IPC (cruelty) due to being time-barred beyond three years. Regarding Section 406 IPC (criminal breach of trust), the Court held that although technically a continuing offence, the proceedings should be quashed entirely because the husband had already deposited all listed articles and there was no genuine demand or refusal. The Court found the subsequent list of additional items, furnished over seven years later, to be an afterthought and concluded the complaint was filed as an abuse of process to pressure the husband in the pending divorce case.
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