The power to quash criminal proceedings should be exercised sparingly and only in deserving cases. The veracity of the allegations in the FIR should be tested by the investigating agency, and the court cannot determine the merits of the allegations in the present proceedings.

JUDGMENT :

1. This petition has been filed under section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking quashment of the FIR No. 72/2022 dated 26.06.2022 registered at Police Station Thathri Doda, at the behest of respondent No. 2, wherein the petitioner-accused person was found involved in the commission of offence punishable under section 366/376 IPC.

2. Petitioner/accused pleaded following facts:-

a) That the petitioner is a defence personnel serving in Army in a unit of Rashtriya Rifles as a sepoy and is presently posted at Anantnag. He is the only earning hand in the family comprising of old aged mother and himself. His father has died when the petitioner was of a tender age.

b) That the daughter of the complainant who is doing her MA and is major girl residing in nearby village, managed Whatsapp number of the petitioner and started messaging him from her Mobile No. 9149699762 and expressed her desire to marry with the petitioner. At the time when the daughter of the complainant started sending messages to the petitioner, the petitioner was on his active duty in Kashmir Valley. The petitioner has never indulged in any such activity with the daughter of the complainant which could be termed as indecent or offensive. Thereafter the complainant and her daughter have been time and again approaching the mother of the petitioner for marriage of the petitioner with the daughter of the respondent no. 2 but the petitioner has all along refused the proposal. The daughter of the complainant has been time and again and at regular intervals pressurizing and trying to persuade the petitioner to marry with her but the petitioner always has categorically been telling her that he is not willing to marry her. She has been constantly text messaging the petitioner and using all her means to force the petitioner to marry her but the petitioner has never agreed to her demand and she has even been threatening the petitioner in her text messages that she will get her marriage solemnized with the petitioner even forcibly. She says in her text message: ''Mai apse Zabardasti bhi Shadi Krvayu gi. Par Abhi nhi. Tum ana par. Bht hua apka drama". This is chat of April 2022 at 10:40 p.m., there are other messages also which clearly show that it is the daughter of the respondent no.2 who has been constantly trying to force the petitioner to marry with her but the petitioner has always been showing no interest in marriage with the daughter of the respondent no. 2.

c) That the missing of the daughter of the respondent no. 2 on 19.06.2022 and a report with the police on 20.06.2022 where the petitioner is nowhere figuring in the whole story of the complainant that her daughter had gone to Jammu, lived one night at Jammu and then went to Srinagar with some unknown lady lived with her in a hotel at Srinagar and then she was recovered by the Thathri Police from Outskirts of Srinagar. The petitioner has no concern with this whole episode but the complainant has tried to use this episode to falsely implicate the petitioner in a serious criminal case of abduction and rape only to blackmail the petitioner for contracting marriage with her daughter. The allegations of the complainant that the petitioner had called her daughter on phone during night at 10:00 p.m. and told her that he will marry with her and under this garb committed rape upon the daughter of the complainant, is a story which ex-facie appears to be fabrication and a plot to falsely involve the petitioner.

d) That the falsity of the allegations is clear from the fact that once the complainant had lodged a missing report of her daughter with the respondent No. 1 and he, in pursuance to this report, recovered the girl (daughter of the complainant) from Srinagar, then the girl must have told the whole story to the respondent no. 1 and had there been any such thing happened with the girl, she would have told the Police and Police would have registered the case but that did not happen because after the police recovered the girl, based on