IMPORTANT POINT
Cruelty – Court must guard against false and vindictive cases..

JUDGMENT

The petitioners through the medium of this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seek quashment of FIR No.13/2021 for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 498-A, 323, 109 of Indian Penal Code registered at Police Station, Women Cell, Jammu and the chargesheet arising there from pending before the trial court.

2. The petitioners being aggrieved of the aforesaid FIR and chargesheet have challenged the same asserting in their petition that the petitioner No.4 was married to the respondent No.3 in accordance with Sikh rites and rituals on 14.10.2010 through a matrimonial site namely “Jeevan Sathi.com” where both of them had uploaded their profile in order to find a suitable life partner for marriage; that after a courtship period of almost one year, they decided to enter into wedlock; that at the time of marriage, the petitioner No.3 was working as HVAC Engineer in RKR Software Ltd. Company whereas, respondent No.3 was working as Physiotherapist in Deepak Hospital in Saraba Nagar, Ludhiana (Punjab); that the petitioner No.4 at the time of his marriage and thereafter lived in Noida whereas, the respondent No.3 in Ludhiana as both of them had left Jammu soon after the marriage and started living in their own accommodations in Noida and Ludhiana respectively, whereas, the petitioners No.2 and 3 were living in Jammu in their own houses.

3. It has been asserted that the petitioner No.1 is a social worker, petitioner No.2 is a housewife and petitioner No.3 is a retired government employee and that the respondent No.3 had been constantly harassing them and in order to protect herself, the petitioner No.2, who is an ailing old lady suffering from breast cancer and after effects of a brain stroke, had filed a petition under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 against the respondent No.3 which is subjudice in the court of learned Excise Magistrate, Jammu and that the said court had been pleased to direct SHO Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu to ensure that the petitioner No.2 be not harassed by the respondent No.3 vide order dated 27.01.2021; that the petitioner No.3 also apprehending any mischief by the respondent No.3 filed a suit for Permanent Prohibitory Injunction against the respondent No.3 restraining her from interfering in the peaceful possession of the plaintiff over the suit property which is the residential house of the petitioner No.3 and the learned 2nd Civil Subordinate Judge (Passenger Tax) Jammu vide order dated 27.01.2021 directed the parties i.e., petitioner No.3 and respondent No.3 to maintain status quo on spot.

4. The petitioners have alleged that as a counter blast to the application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 filed by the petitioner No.2 and the suit filed by the petitioner No.3, the respondent No.3 filed a false complaint with the Police Station, Women Cell, Jammu established for crimes against women and children at Ludhiana vide No.CR No.1971992 dated 09.02.2001 and subsequently she also filed a complaint with the respondent No.1 at the Women Cell of Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu as Complaint No.226/2021 and also filed an application under Section 12 and 23 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which is subjudice before the court of learned 1st Additional Munsiff (Forest Magistrate) Jammu which has also been challenged by the petitioners No.2 to 4 before this Court in a petition bearing CRM(M) No.561/2021 under Section 482 CrP.C titled “Gurtaj Singh & Ors Vs. Chetan Pal Kour”; that in the context of the complaint filed, the Women Cell, Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu summoned the petitioners No.2 to 4 to the police station and initiated counseling of the parties and in the mean time, the petitioner No.4 on 24.02.2021 filed a divorce petition against the respondent No.3 which is subjudice before the Additional District Judge Family Court, Jammu.

5. The