The court ruled that general allegations of cruelty without specific instances do not warrant criminal proceedings, emphasizing the need to prevent abuse of legal provisions in matrimonial disputes.

ORDER :

1. By this application, under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., the applicants - original accused, are seeking quashing of the FIR, being I-C.R.No. 11215006220541 of 2022, registered with Borsad City Police Station, Anand for the offence punishable under Sections 498 and 114 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE .

2. This Court has heard learned counsel Mr. Dipen Desai, Mr. Sabir Saiyyad and Ms. C.M. Shah, learned APP for the respective parties.

3. Brief facts giving rise to file present application are that, the second respondent Aarzoo Diwan has lodged aforesaid FIR against her husband and his relatives for the act of cruelty and demand of dowry. The marriage of the parties took place on 28.01.2017. Admittedly, after the marriage, the husband and wife went to Germany and stayed together till 01.10.2018. After completion the study, the husband got job at the Germany, however, due to workload, he was thinking to return back to India but for better future, the second respondent wife insisted to live in Germany. On this issue, the dispute arose between the husband and wife. As a part of understanding, the husband returned back to India, whereas, wife stayed at Germany for a considerably time. When wife returned back to India in the month of August, 2019, the dispute again arose. It is alleged that, during the stay in India, at her matrimonial home, she was subjected to cruelty and harassment and on the petty issue of household works, she was abused and harassed. After leaving India for the second respondent for Germany, there was a pressure to come back to India and when she decided to come back, and arrived in India on 01.07.2021, she was not happily received by the in-laws and husband and with all surprise, when she was at parental home, the written intimation of divorce for thrice by registered AD had been served. In such circumstances, she lodged an FIR against the husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, 2 sister in laws, and husband of the sister in laws, inter-alia, alleging that, without any reason, she had been given a divorce, which amount to cruelty and by retaining all the necessary original educational certificates and ornaments, she was neglected and harassed mentally and physically by the accused.

4. Mr. Dipen Desai, learned counsel for the applicants submitted that, the second respondent has misused the criminal machinery only with a view to harass the innocent family members and considering the allegations made in the FIR, the ingredients of offence cruelty are not made out and therefore the contents of the FIR accepted to be true, do not disclose or make out a case against the applicants.

5. Mr. Dipen Desai, learned counsel upon instructions, placed on record the list of items, which had been given at the time of marriage, to submit that, the applicants are ready to hand over the ornaments and other things to the respondent wife. The learned counsel appearing for the second respondent by acknowledging the same, has submitted that, the items mentioned in the list being received from the applicants and same handed over to the second respondent wife. Before this Court, the second respondent without prejudice to the rights and contentions, has voluntarily accepted the ornaments and other items mentioned in the list. In such circumstances, Mr. Desai has submitted that, the applicants are innocent and by making general and vague allegations, the applicants have been impleaded as accused and same is nothing but it would be a sheer abuse of process of law and court.

6. In such circumstances, relying on the parameters for quashing laid down by the Apex Court in the case o