New Delhi, April 9 -- Can the law step back when life moves on? Answering in the affirmative, the Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man who eloped with a minor but later married her, saying continuation of the case would disrupt their "happy life". A bench of justices Vikram Nath and NV Anjaria underscored that the ultimate aim of the justice system is to deliver substantive and meaningful justice, which may sometimes require discontinuing proceedings when circumstances so demand. "Aim of all legal proceedings is to arrive at justice, a meaningful and substantive. In some cases, the justice is done by bringing home the outcome in accordance with law, whereas in some matters, the action in law would deserve to be halted soon and terminated.yielding to the legitimate demand of facts and warrant of circumstances," the bench noted in its judgment released on Tuesday. The case arose from criminal charges against the man for eloping with a girl in 2020- an act that constitutes an offence under law. The minor's father got a criminal case registered under the charges of kidnapping and rape. However, during the course of time, the two married and have since been living together as husband and wife. After the Uttarakhand High Court refused to quash the charges against the man by an order in 2025, the man and his wife filed a joint appeal in the top court. Taking note of this subsequent development, the bench held that continuing the prosecution would not only be unnecessary but would also cause undue hardship to the couple....