Penal Code, 1860 – s.498-A and s.114 – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.482 – The appellants 1, 2 and 3 are husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law, respectively, of the second respondent – On 15.05.2019, the first appellant filed for divorce – On 20.07.2019, the second respondent lodged the impugned FIR – Appellants sought quashing of the impugned criminal proceedings – The High Court opined that once the allegations are there, whether they are true or false, would be determined during the trial, therefore the quashing petition is liable to be dismissed – Correctness:
Held: What is important, for the purposes of deciding this case, is that in the FIR there is no specific allegation of demand of dowry by the accused – Further, the allegation of harassment of the complainant at the instance of the parents-in-law is limited to extending taunts and custody related issues of minor children – However, there is no disclosure about the nature of those taunts – Admittedly, the second respondent was married to the first appellant in the year 2005 and for last several years since before lodging the FIR, the complainant had been working and staying in rented accommodations at different places – Besides that, the FIR was lodged on 20.07.2019, just three days after service of summons of the divorce proceedings initiated by the first appellant – There are some allegations of assault and of physical and mental torture of the complainant, but they are against the husband – As against the parents-in-law, the allegations are only of extending taunts and of not parting with the money for managing household expenses – Specific details in respect of those taunts have not been disclosed – In the circumstances, no case to proceed against the parents-in-law, namely, the second and third appellant is made out – In so far as the first appellant is concerned, there are allegations of physical and mental torture of the complainant at his behest – Consequently, the case may proceed qua the first appellant. [Paras 11-13]
Penal Code, 1860 – s.498-A – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.482 – One party files for divorce and in counterblast other party files FIR –Allegations levelled after many years of marriage – Pedantic approach of the High Court: Held: The High adopted an extremely pedantic approach while dealing with the quashing petition of the appellants – No doubt, in ordinary course, while exercising power u/s.482 of the CrPC, the Court is not required to test the correctness of the allegations, but in matters arising from matrimonial disputes, particularly where the allegations are levelled after many years of marriage and, that too, after one party initiates divorce proceeding against the other, the Court must be circumspect in taking the allegations at their face value – Rather, it must examine, where allegations of mala fides are there, whether those allegations have been levelled with an oblique purpose – More so, while considering the prayer of the relatives of the husband. [Para 13]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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