Delhi HC declines to quash case against man who used fake matrimonial profiles despite settlement

Delhi High Court refuses to quash case against a man accused of defrauding women via fake matrimonial profiles, citing broader social implications.

New Delhi

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma delivered the verdict on October 17 while hearing the man’s plea to quash an FIR filed against him under various IPC provisions, including cheating and forgery. (HT Archive)

The Delhi High Court has declined to quash a case against a man accused of using fake matrimonial profiles to deceive multiple women for money, stating that such offences have broader social implications and cannot be settled privately.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma delivered the verdict on September 24, which was uploaded on October 17, while hearing the man’s plea to quash an FIR filed against him under various IPC provisions, including cheating and forgery.

The FIR, filed in 2018 by one of the victim’s fathers, alleged that the man had falsely claimed to be a pilot with SpiceJet Airlines and a partner in a hotel business in Dwarka, thereby inducing him to consent to the man’s marriage with his daughter.

It stated that the family had booked a hotel for the wedding at considerable expense and provided furniture, gold, and clothes for the man and his family. However, on the eve of the wedding, another woman, who had also allegedly been cheated by him, appeared and revealed that he had defrauded her of ₹17 lakh.

The FIR further alleged that although the man initially denied the accusations, he later coerced the complainant’s daughter into marriage and threatened the family with dire consequences if they refused to pay him money.

In his petition in the high court, the man said that both parties had amicably resolved their dispute and entered into a settlement agreement in April, under which he agreed to pay ₹4.4 lakh to the victim. The complainant’s lawyer also confirmed the settlement and expressed no objection to the quashing of the FIR.

Delhi Police’s lawyer, Naresh Kumar Chahar, opposed the petition, asserting that the offences alleged against the man were grave, involving a clear element of deceit, forgery and financial exploitation of multiple victims across different jurisdictions. Chahar further submitted that such offences have a significant impact on society and cannot be treated as a mere private dispute, even if a settlement had been reached between the accused and the complainant.

Consequently, justice Sharma, in her nine-page verdict, dismissed the petition, observing that the man had fabricated employment credentials to pose as a commercial pilot and deceive multiple victims.

The court noted that his bank account showed substantial deposits from several individuals and that FIRs registered in different states for similar offences prima facie indicated a pattern of cheating.

“Such conduct cannot be viewed as a private dispute capable of settlement between the parties; and rather, the same has wider social implications. Considering the nature as well as manner of commission of the offence, and the larger impact on society, this court finds no ground to treat the present case as a mere private dispute warranting the exercise of inherent jurisdiction for quashing of FIR on the basis of settlement, neither any case is made out for quashing the FIR in view of prima facie material collected against the petitioner during the course of investigation,” the court said in its verdict.