Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal 2025 case gained attention because the High Court had previously held that proceedings under the DV Act could not be quashed under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code (Now Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) due to their civil nature. The intervention of the Supreme Court explained this long-standing ambiguity, thereby impacting how lower courts and High Courts handle DV Act proceedings. Discover more in-depth analyses of important Supreme Court decisions by exploring Recent Judgements of Supreme Court.

Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal Introduction

Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal 2025 is a landmark judgment that examined the extent of a High Court's inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (now Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) in relation to proceedings under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The case emerged from a domestic dispute involving allegations of dowry harassment and domestic violence, where the respondent-wife initiated proceedings under the DV Act. The appellants sought to quash these proceedings, raising questions about the scope and applicability of inherent criminal jurisdiction in matters that are primarily civil in nature.

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The case at hand centres around the main question of whether a High Court can exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 or its corresponding provision under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to quash proceedings initiated under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The matter emerged from two connected appeals challenging the refusal of the High Court to quash domestic violence proceedings filed by the respondent-wife against her husband and in-laws. The following are the facts of Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal -

Parties Involved

The case involves two connected criminal appeals filed by Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi (brother-in-law), Prateek Tripathi (husband), Vivekanand Tiwari (father-in-law) and Mira Tiwari (mother-in-law) against a common order of the High Court. The complainant/respondent is Vidhi Rawal, the wife of Prateek Tripathi.

Marriage and Allegations

Vidhi Rawal and Prateek Tripathi were married on 12th December, 2019 in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, according to Hindu rites. On 8th December 2021, the respondent filed a complaint at the Women Consultancy Centre, Dewas, alleging dowry harassment by her husband and father-in-law. Subsequently, an FIR was registered on 7th January 2022 at Mahila Thana, Dewas, under Section 498A, Section 504, Section 506 and Section 34 of Indian Penal Code and alleged mental and physical harassment for a dowry of Rs. 20 lakhs and a luxury SUV.

Domestic Violence Proceedings

On 2nd March 2022, Vidhi Rawal initiated proceedings under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 before the District and Sessions Judge, Dewas. She alleged that her husband assaulted her and threw her out while they were living abroad. Relief was sought under Sections 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 of the DV Act.

Quashing Petitions and Decision of High Court

The appellants filed petitions under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and sought to quash the DV Act proceedings. The High Court dismissed the petitions and held that proceedings under Section 12 of the DV Act are civil in nature and therefore not subject to quashing under the inherent criminal jurisdiction of the Court. Aggrieved by this, the Appellant approached the Supreme Court and filed an appeal.

Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal 2025 Legal Issues

The following issues were addressed in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal 2025- 

• Whether High Courts can invoke their inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC (now Section 528 BNSS) to quash proceedings initiated under Section 12(1) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005?

The Supreme Court examined whether complaints or proceedings arising out of Section 12 which are mainly civil in nature, fall within the scope of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code.

• Whether the civil nature of proceedings under the DV Act bars the application of criminal procedural remedies?

The main issue in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal was whether the civil character of DV Act proceedings prevented the High Court from intervening under a criminal procedural statute.

• What degree of judicial restraint is expected from High Courts while dealing with applications seeking quashing of DV Act proceedings?

The Court in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi v Vidhi Rawal examined the extent to which High Courts should exercise caution in interfering with proceedings initiated under a welfare legislation like the DV Act, 2005.

• Whether prior High Court judgments that restricted the use of Section 482 CrPC in DV Act matters were legally sustainable.

Lastly, the Court in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal addressed the correctness of past High Court decisions that held Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code to be inapplicable to DV Act complaints.

Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code played an important role in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal. The following is the analysis of this provision -

Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code

Section 482 (Now Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) recognizes the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to:

• Prevent abuse of the process of any court
• Secure the ends of justice.

Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal 2025 Judgment and Impact

On 19th May, 2025, the 2-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice AS Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal held that High Courts are empowered to quash complaints filed under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, by exercising their inherent powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (now Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023).

The Court in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal explained that the earlier view of the High Court that applications under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code cannot be used to challenge proceedings initiated under Section 12(1) of the DV Act is legally incorrect. It highlighted that the jurisdiction under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code is available even in cases emerging from applications filed under the DV Act, despite the fact that such proceedings are predominantly civil in nature.

The 2-Judge Bench in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal observed that in cases involving misuse of legal process or gross injustice, the High Court can justifiably invoke its powers under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code to quash proceedings or orders passed under Sections 18 to 23 of the DV Act. However, the Court cautioned that this power must be exercised sparingly and with due circumspection, given the welfare-oriented objectives of the DV Act.

Justice A.S. Oka in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal, delivering the verdict along with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, observed that previous judicial interpretations including one that he himself was part of while serving in the Bombay High Court wrongly limited the High Court’s power under Section 482 CrPC in DV matters. He acknowledged that judicial errors must be corrected and emphasized the continuous nature of judicial learning.

The Court in Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal reiterated that while the DV Act proceedings are civil in character, they do not bar the High Court from intervening where there is gross abuse of legal process. Nonetheless, it urged High Courts to generally adopt a "hands-off" approach and interfere only in exceptional cases where allowing proceedings to continue would result in injustice or undermine the ends of justice.

Conclusion

In Shaurabh Kumar Tripathi vs Vidhi Rawal 2025 the Supreme Court on 19th May, 2025 ruled that High Courts can indeed invoke their inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC (Now Section 528 BNSS) to quash proceedings under the DV Act. The Court highlighted that such extraordinary power must be exercised cautiously and in rare instances.