IMPORTANT POINT
Cruelty and dowry offences – Criminal proceedings can be quashed when there is no specific allegation of any physical violence.

JUDGEMENT

K. VINOD CHANDRAN, J.

1. A disgruntled wife, is the petitioner in this Special Leave Petition, aggrieved with the invocation of Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [the Cr. PC] by the High Court of Allahabad to quash a proceeding initiated by the petitioner under Section 156(3) of the Cr.PC. The second respondent herein who is the husband of the petitioner along with the third and fourth respondents who are his parents, approached the High Court under Section 482, Cr.PC against the summons issued by the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow in Complaint Case No.9780 of 2022. The allegations levelled by the petitioner in the complaint case were of offences under Section 498A, 325 and 506 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Sections 3/4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. In fact, the petitioner had arrayed ten persons in the complaint; her husband, his parents, two brothers of his father, their wives and three children of three brothers, totalling ten. The Magistrate after perusing the complaint, by the impugned order dated 08.11.2023, noticed many contradictions in the stand of the complainant as coming forth from the complaint and the statements recorded under Section 200 and 202, Cr.PC. It was found that there was no case to summon any of the persons arrayed in the complaint, except, the husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law of the complainant, specifically relying on the judgment in Geeta Mehrotra and Anr. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Anr., (2012) 10 SCC 741.

2. The learned Single Judge, before whom the petitioner appeared in person, quashed the proceedings initiated relying on Preeti Gupta and Anr. V. State of Jharkhand and Anr., (2010) 7 SCC 667 which noted with anguish the rapidly increasing matrimonial litigations in the country roping in the close relatives of the husband and even members of the extended family, as in this case, on allegations of harassment. This requires the Courts to be doubly cautious and extremely careful in dealing with such complaints, especially since the ultimate object of justice is to find out the truth and not only to punish the guilty but also to protect the innocent. It was also emphasised that in the event of the proceedings being found to be an abuse of process of Court, then necessarily the power under Section 482, Cr. PC should be invoked to secure the ends of justice.

3. We heard Mr. Ajay Kumar Singh, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner/complainant, Mr. Dinesh Dwivedi, learned Senior Counsel and Mr. Shaurya Sahay, learned counsel appearing for the respondents.

4. The marriage on 11.12.2019 is admitted by the parties, which according to the petitioner, was initiated and carried out with much pomp and ceremony by the grandfather of the groom, a very respected person who had also been the Governor of a State. The petitioner alleged that while the grandfather of her husband was alive, she was treated with dignity. As soon as he died, mental and physical harassment commenced, not only from her husband and his parents but also from the larger family, comprising of two brothers of the father-in-law who are also very influential and one of them holding a Minister’s post in the Government. The complainant accuses her in-laws of having thrown her out of the matrimonial home on 28.09.2020 before which she was beaten up, resulting in a fracture on her hand. Despite being thrown out, the complainant in an attempt at rapprochement, went back to her matrimonial home on 08.10.2020 at which point also she was treated badly and again turned out from the house. An uncle, who was arrayed as an opposite party, the Minister, is alleged to have threatened her with death. The specific threat levelled was that one another uncle would shoot her to death, which uncle was, in any case, not arrayed as an accused in the complaint.

5. A further effort was made by the petitioner and she along with her mother went to her matrimonial home on 16.12.2021. The accused persons alle