Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.482 – Penal Code, 1860 – s.498A – Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 – ss.3, 4 – Refusal to quash criminal proceedings, when not justified – FIR lodged by respondent No.2-wife against appellants under Section 498A, IPC and Sections 3 and 4, Dowry Act – Appellants sought quashing of the criminal proceedings – Refused by High Court – Challenge to:
Held: Respondent No.2 left the matrimonial house after quarrelling with appellant No.1-husband with respect to her interactions with a third person in their marriage – Later, she came back assuring to have a cordial relationship however, once again left the matrimonial house – Complaint under Section 498A, IPC was lodged by the respondent No.2 as a counterblast to the petition for dissolution of marriage sought by the appellant No.1 – No substantial and specific allegations were made against appellant Nos.2 to 6 (family members of appellant No.1) other than stating that they used to instigate appellant No.1 for demanding more dowry – Allegations against the appellants were vague and omnibus, too far-fetched and not believable – Appellant Nos.2 to 6 were living in different cities and admittedly, never resided with the couple and their children – FIR filed by respondent No.2 was initiated with ulterior motives and is not a genuine complaint rather it is a retaliatory measure intended to settle scores with appellant No.1 and his family members – Present case falls within category (7) of illustrative parameters highlighted in Bhajan Lal case – High Court erred in not exercising the powers under Section 482, CrPC – Impugned order set aside – Quashing petition allowed – FIR under Section 498A, IPC and Sections 3 and 4, Dowry Act, chargesheet and the trial pending against the appellants, quashed. [Paras 21, 22, 24-26, 29, 32, 33]
Penal Code, 1860 – s.498A – Growing misuse of, to seek compliance with the unreasonable demands of a wife – Matrimonial discords – Implication of all the members of the husband’s family without specific allegations indicating their active involvement – Generalised and sweeping accusations unsupported by concrete evidence – Practice deprecated – Cautioned against prosecuting the husband and his family in the absence of a clear prima facie case.
Words and Phrases – ‘Cruelty’ – Penal Code, 1860 – s.498A – Discussed.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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