(Surinder Singh, J.) - The accused-petitioners stand charge-sheeted by the learned Sessions Judge, for the offences punishable under Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 in short “the Dowry Act” and also under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, vide order dated 16.6.2008, which has been assailed in the present criminal revision petition, on the following grounds :-

(i) That the case was investigated by the police officer below the rank of Dy. S.P. and no sanction was taken from the District Magistrate before initiating the proceeding for the alleged offence under the Dowry Act as required under the law. Thus the learned trial Court could not have taken the cognizance under the said Act. AND

(ii) Prima facie the ingredients of the offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code are not made out from the prosecution story, the charge was framed in a slip-shod manner and without application of mind, therefore, deserves to be set aside.

2. I have heard the learned Counsel for the parties and have gone through the record of the case to examine the legality and propriety of the impugned order.

3. Precisely the facts giving rise to the present petition can be stated thus. Col. Naresh Kumar Singh complainant is the father of a Swati Singh a promising daughter (to be referred as deceased) who completed her MBA from N.I.M.C. Calcutta. Realizing that she has became of marriageable age, her parents started searching for a good match and were attracted by a matrimonial published in “Sunday Times on Ist January, 2006, whereby petitioner No. 2 Capt. Anirudh Singh (29) was looking for the beautiful bride. Both the facilities had a Military service background. Feeling thrilled, the complainant contacted telephonically the father of the proposed birde-groom, named Col. Ashok Kumar Bais (petitioner No. 1) and supplied the bio-data of his daughter alongwith her photographs as desired. The petitioner No. 1 herein informed the complainant that he being in the Army, did not believe in matching the horoscope. Shortly, thereafter, both the families started coming closure by contacting each other telephonically and finally a meeting was arranged at Bhatinda, where the complainant was posted. Capt. Anirudh met Swati and liked her at a first glance and so was the case with her. The other family members of the Capt. Anirudh also liked the girl. Thus Shagun and other gifts were exchanged and the petitioners left for their place with the assurance to fix a date for the `ring ceremony’. In the meantime, Capt. Anirudh was deputed to a military course and the date for `ring ceremony’ could not be fixed. Thereafter, Anirudh got his posting at Ganga Nagar (Rajasthan), where Swati and her parents went to meet him. Both i.e. the girl and boy exchanged their telephone numbers again and a formal Shagun was given to Capt. Anirudh.

4. Ultimately, the ‘ring ceremony’ was fixed at Jammu with the consent of both the families, which was performed by an Army-Pandit, followed by a lunch in the hotel. The father of deceased gave gold ornaments and cash to the parents of Capt. Anirudh Singh and other family members alongwith some gifts worth Rs. 1,00,000/- on this ceremony and finally the marriage was fixed on 10.12.2006.

5. Suddenly, on 28.5.2006, Col. Bais, the father of Capt. Anirudh Singh informed the complainant that the horoscope of the girl did not match as she was “Manglik”. The complainant got shock of his life and informed that both i.e. the girl and boy were Manglik and they have consulted a renewed Astrologer, who told them there was no difficulty in their marriage. The complainant along with his wife, the cousin Mohinder Singh and his wife went to Jammu to meet Col. Bais. Then all of them went to an Astrologer, who after studying the horoscopes of the boy and girl told that there was absolutely no difficulty in their marriage.

6. Thereafter Col. Bais told the complainant that he would respond after con