Jekirul Hussain, S/o Late Letiful Hussain vs State of Assam, Represented by the Public Prosecutor, Assam

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2022 Supreme(Gau) 946

IN THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT AT GUWAHATI (THE HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
PRINCIPAL SEAT AT GUWAHATI
MALASRI NANDI, J.
Jekirul Hussain, S/o Late Letiful Hussain – Appellant
Versus
State of Assam, Represented by the Public Prosecutor, Assam. – Respondent
Crl. Pet. No. 194/2022
Decided on : 16-12-2022

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mr S N Tamuli, Ms A Begum
For the Respondent: Mr P S Lahkar, APP.

Headnote:
Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 498A, 420, 468, 406, 506, 34 - Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 482, 154, 173, 173(8) – Offence Punishable – Quashing of First Information Report - Punishment for criminal breach of trust - Information in cognizable cases - Punishment for criminal intimidation - Forgery for purpose of cheating - Saving of inherent powers of High Court - Report of police officer on completion of investigation - Several persons in furtherance of common intention - Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property - Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty -Whether two conspiracies are identical - Court held that even though some of conspirators were same in both two events, objectives were different - It cannot be said that both FIRs refer to commission of same offence –Held, Court have already stated that petitioner and respondent are husband and wife - They are living separately - Definitely, incident occurred prior, but FIR was lodged in same set of incident, i.e., physical and mental torture and transfer of registration certificate from name of respondent to present petitioner without her consent etc - It is seen that four FIRs were lodged on four different dates on same set of incident but case was initiated accordingly by same person against same accused - Applying principle of aforesaid legal proposition, in present case also, Court of view that FIR, which was registered vide PS Case, under Section 498(A) of Indian Penal Code, 1860, is not permissible under provision of law – Ordered Accordingly.

JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr S N Tamuli, learned counsel assisted by Ms A Begum, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr P S Lahkar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, appearing on behalf of the State of Assam/respondent No. 1.

2. This is an application filed by the petitioner under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, praying for setting aside/quashing the FIR dated 14.04.2021, which was registered as Sivasagar PS Case No. 447/2021 and the charge sheet No. 104/2021, dated 03.05.2021 and the entire proceeding of PRC Case No. 634/2021, arising out of Sivasagar PS Case No. 447/2021, under Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860

3. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the respondent No. 2 is the wife of the present petitioner. After their marriage they lived together as husband and wife and out their wedlock two children were born, but subsequently, the respondent No. 2 left the house of her husband and started to live in the house of her parents and, thereafter, lodged four FIRs against the present petitioner on the same ground of physical torture and harassment.

4. It is also submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that if multiple first information reports by the same person against the same accused are permitted to be registered in respect of the same set of facts and allegation, it will result in the accused getting entangled in multiple criminal proceedings for the same alleged offence. The registration of such multiple FIRs is nothing but the abuse of the process of law.

5. In support of his submission, the learned counsel for the petitioner has cited one case-law:-

2022 Live Law (SC) 731 ; (Tarak Dash Mukharjee and others –vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.)

6. On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor has fairly submitted that the multiple FIRs, which have been lodged against the petitioner by the same informant in the same set of incident, are not permissible under the law.

7. I have considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties. I have also gone through the documents available in the record.

8. It appears from the record that on 12.10.2019, the present respondent No. 2 as informant has lodged a written FIR before Gorchuk Police Station alleging that since 01.04.2018, she is living at her parent’s house at Guwahati due to torture of her husband and his family members. At Sivasagar, she constructed a house from her own money, which is now in their possession. On 06.02.2016, she had purchased one four-wheeler vehicle, Swift Desire VXI, by her own money which was registered in her name at Guwahati. At present, the vehicle is in the custody of her husband. She came to know that the vehicle had been transferred from her name to the name of her husband. Thereafter, she has lodged the FIR, which is the first FIR against the present petitioner and on the basis of the said FIR a case was registered vide Gorchuk PS Case No. 761/2019, under Sections 498A/420/468 IPC.

9. The second FIR was lodged on 11.11.2019, before the SP, Sivasagar alleging that she was married to the petitioner and out of their wedlock two children were born and from 01.04.2018, she is living with her parents at Guwahati. The informant further alleged that the accused petitioners drove her out from her matrimonial home. It is also alleged that the petitioner changed the name of the informant in registration certificate of her vehicle into his name and accordingly, using the same. The informant also stated that she had filed complaint to DTO and Police at Guwahati and she had also filed maintenance case at Family Court, Guwahati.

10. On receipt of the said FIR, a case was registered vide Sivasagar PS Case No. 1206/2019 under Section 498A/406/468 IPC.

11. It is seen from the record that the third FIR was lodged on 02.09.2020, before the In-charge, Joysagar Police Outpost, under Sivasagar Police Station stating, inter alia,that her marriage was solemnized with the petitioner on 16.