Criminal Petition No.4140 of 2010

1. This petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking to quash proceedings in D.V.C.No.1 of 2010 (D.V.C.) on the file of the Court of II Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Kothagudem.

2. The petitioner is the respondent and the second respondent is the complainant in the DVC case. The respondent filed the complaint under Sections 12, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short ‘the Act’) against the petitioner herein with a plea to restrain him from dispossessing her from shared household and also to pay compensation.

3. For the sake of convenience, I refer the parties as arrayed in the DVC. It is pleaded and alleged in the complaint as follows.

4. (a) The complainant is the legally wedded wife of Chembeti Chinna Koteshwar Rao, whereas their marriage took place as per Hindu Rites and Customs on 15.11.2008. In fact, her husband was first married to one Uma Maheshwari, daughter of the respondent on 11.8.2000 and a girl by name Keerthi who is aged 7 years was born to them. On 7.3.2008 Uma Maheshwari died. The respondent used to reside in their house as family member. In fact he was looking after the affairs of the house. Her husband reposed implicit confidence on the respondent in all respects. Factually, the husband of the petitioner married her as she was a relative of him and also for taking necessary care of the minor. According to the complainant, further she and her husband have been taking care of the minor. The respondent got no interest in the welfare of the minor. On the other hand, he made several efforts to grab the amounts kept in the name of the minor girl. (b) She alleges that apart from that, the respondent has also been making efforts to subject her to domestic violence one way or the other for the purpose of ruining the matrimonial house. The petitioner is always under threat and danger in the hands of the respondent. While such circumstances existed, on 30.6.2009 the respondent along with some anti-social elements entered the house and threatened her with dire consequences and expressed his intention to kidnap the minor. Apart from that on 1.7.2009, the respondent attempted to kidnap the minor and in that context, criminally intimidated her again threatening her with dire consequences. Later, she informed about the incident to her husband, following which they gave a report in Palvancha Police Station, which was registered in Cr.No.170 of 2009 under Sections 363, 511, 506 read with Section 34 IPC and then the respondent was arrested by the police. She claims that because of the conduct of the respondent, her health is endangered. It is also stated that the respondent left the sharing roof of the petitioner’s matrimonial house, but he is continuously making an onslaught to wreck vengeance against the family.

5. It is to be examined whether there are grounds to quash the proceedings in the DVC as prayed.

6. Here Sections 2(a), 2(f), 2(g), 2(q), 2(s) and 3 coupled with Sections 18 to 22 of the Act’ are important.

(a) By virtue of Section 2(a) of the Act, “aggrieved person” means any woman who is, or has been in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act to domestic violence by the respondent. So existence of domestic relationship and living in shared house as defined in Sections 2(f) and 2(s) of the Act are the conditions precedent for the aggrieved party to initiate proceedings under the Act. (b) By virtue of Section 2(q) “Respondent” means any adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under this Act: Provided that an aggrieved wife or female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage may also file a complaint against a relative of the husband or the male partner. The meaning of the proviso can be better understood while analyzing what