At cognizance stage, criminal proceedings under dowry harassment provisions not quashable if case diary materials prima facie disclose specific offences, without assessing defence or merits; vague allegation precedents distinguished.

JUDGMENT :

Anil Kumar Choudhary, J.

I.A. No.1779 of 2026

1. Heard the parties.

2. This interlocutory application has been filed with the prayer for early hearing of this criminal miscellaneous petition.

3. Since, hearing of this criminal miscellaneous petition is taken up today, hence, this interlocutory application is disposed of being infructuous.

Cr.M.P. No. 774 of 2025

1. Heard the parties.

2. This criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of B.N.S.S., 2023 with the prayer to quash the entire criminal proceeding including the order dated 21.11.2024 passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Deoghar in connection with Deoghar Town P.S. Case No.363 of 2024, corresponding to G.R. No. 1285 of 2024 whereby and where under, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Deoghar has taken cognizance of the offences punishable under Sections 341, 323, 498A, 504, 506/34 of the Indian Penal Code basing upon the materials available in the case diary specifically in paragraph nos.2 to 6 and 10 as well as the other materials available in the record including the FIR and the charge sheet submitted by the police after the investigation of the case.

3. The brief fact of the case is that the informant lodged a written report with the Officer-in-Charge of Deoghar Town police station alleging therein that consequent upon the marriage on 21.02.2019 with the son of the petitioners, after the petitioners taking dowry of articles worth about Rs.50,00,000/- and besides cash of several lakhs of rupees, the informant was kept properly in her matrimonial house for about a week. Before the marriage, the petitioners and the co- accused persons made the demand of a four-wheeler vehicle of ‘Fortuner’ make but they were persuaded to go for the marriage without insisting for the said dowry demand. After the marriage, the petitioners along with co-accused persons told the informant that she is not of the status as the petitioners. The petitioner no.1 is a Deputy Development Commissioner and he has got the marriage of his son solemnized in a wrong place. The petitioners insisted the dowry demand of four-wheeler vehicle of ‘Fortuner’ make and harassed the informant in several ways and manner to coerce to meet their unlawful demand of the four-wheeler vehicle of ‘Fortuner’ make. The informant was made to work as a maid servant and she was not even provided proper food. She was not talked with properly. She was abused regularly and was threatened to be assaulted by raising hand at her and all these things were done as part of harassment, for the purpose of coercing the informant to meet the said unlawful demand of the petitioners of four-wheeler vehicle of ‘Fortuner’ make. Whenever the informant was intimating her maternal uncle and mother, they used to come and used to make the petitioners understand their difficulty; at which the harassment used to be stopped for some days. After being treated with cruelty and assault, the petitioners used to drove out the informant from her matrimonial house; so she used to go to her parental house and used to stay there for some days and again used to come back. On 05.03.2024 the petitioners along with co-accused persons attempted to murder the informant for not fulfilling their said dowry demand. On 10.05.2024 at about 09:00 hours the petitioners took away all the stree dhan jewellery worth lakhs of rupees and clothes and drove out the informant from her matrimonial house after assaulting her.

4. On the basis of the written report submitted by the informant, police registered Deoghar Town P.S. Case No