JUDGMENT :

AJAY MOHAN GOEL, J.

1. By way of this petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the petitioners herein have prayed for the quashing of order dated 31.3.2021, passed by the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Nahan, District Sirmaur, H.P. in Criminal Case No. 59 of 2020 titled as Smt. Babita and Another vs. Arsh Vardhan Singh and Others.

Brief facts necessary for the adjudication of the present petition are as under:

A complaint under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as 2005 Act) was filed by the petitioners in the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Nahan, District Sirmaur, H.P. The same was accompanied by an application under Section 23 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. A preliminary objection was taken by the respondents with regard to the maintainability of the said petition, inter-alia, on the ground that the complainants had already instituted a complaint under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, which was pending adjudication before the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Derra Bassi, Dist