In Brief
A woman was charged with bigamy under Sections 494–495 IPC for allegedly marrying the second respondent while a prior marriage to another person subsisted. She moved the Family Court and obtained a final judgment declaring that she did not have a subsisting prior marriage when she wed the second respondent. The second respondent then filed a criminal complaint alleging bigamy. The Supreme Court held that allowing criminal proceedings after the Family Court conclusively determined the matrimonial status between the same parties would constitute an abuse of process. The Court distinguished between cases where evidence is disputed and those where a competent court has already issued a final judgment on the identical issue. The criminal complaint was quashed.
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