Lack of evidence for alleged offences and abuse of process of law can lead to quashing of FIR.

ORDER

1. The petitioner is before this Court calling in question registration of a crime in Crime No.158 of 2020 for offences punishable under Sections 498A, 504, 507 and 417 of the IPC.

2. Heard Sri H. Pavana Chandra Shetty, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, Sri G. Manjunatha, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.1 and Smt. K.P. Yashodha, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for respondent No.2.

3. Brief facts that lead the petitioner to this Court in the subject petition, as borne out from the pleadings, are as follows:-

The 1st respondent is the complainant. The petitioner is the sole accused. The complainant seeks to register a complaint on 10-11-2020 making certain allegations against the petitioner. The complainant alleges that she is married to one Jagadish and at the stage when the complainant was carrying and was at the 8th month stage, her husband had dropped the complainant in her parents' house at Arakalgud of Hassan District. After two years, the husband comes back to her matrimonial house and gets the complainant and her daughter back to Bangalore. In the complaint it is further alleged that the husband stayed along with her for about six months and then did not return to the house for some time. Therefore, the complainant had to obtain employment at Mariko Marketing Company.

4. In the place of employment, the petitioner comes in contact with her and it is alleged that the petitioner assured that he would marry the complainant. It is further alleged in the complaint that the complainant informed the petitioner that she was five years older to him. However, it is said that the complainant was lured into a relationship with the petitioner on the assurance of marriage. When the petitioner did not keep up his assurance of marriage, the complainant registered a complaint before the jurisdictional Police on 10.11.2020 alleging offences punishable under Sections 498A, 504, 507 and 417 of the IPC. The registration of crime is what leads the petitioner to this Court in the subject petition.

5. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would contend that the complainant at the time when she was in dire need of help, the petitioner had helped her no doubt, but has never assured her that he would marry her, as the complainant was already married and did have a child. Unless she would come out of the marriage, even the allegation that the petitioner had promised to marry her cannot be laid against the petitioner. He would contend that the facts in the case at hand do not have any of the ingredients of offences so alleged against the petitioner. At best, the petitioner can be called a paramour and nothing beyond that. He would submit that the proceedings if permitted to continue would become an abuse of process of law and has to be quashed.

6. The learned counsel appearing for the 1st respondent/ complainant would seek to refute the submissions to contend that the complainant is now neither here nor there. The petitioner promised her that he would marry her and has now breached the said marriage assurance. Therefore, it is a matter of trial for the petitioner to come out clean. Whether the offences alleged are the ones that would have ingredients are all a matter of investigation. While filing the charge sheet, the Police may even file a 'B' report or drop the charges that are not appropriately laid against the petitioner.

7. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the material on record.

8. The afore-narrated facts are a matter of record. The entire issue now springs from the complaint. Therefore, I deem it appropriate to notice the compliant. The complaint reads as follows:

The complaint narrates that the petitioner and the complainant had come in contact with each other and the complainant claims that the petitioner had assured that he would marry her notwithstanding the fact that she was 5 years older and a married woman hav