ORDER :

This Criminal Original Petition has been filed seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.471/2019, on the file of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Puducherry.

2. The case of the prosecution is that the 2nd respondent got married to A-1 on 08.06.2017 and she was subjected to cruelty by the accused persons and there was a demand for dowry from the 2nd respondent. It is seen from the FIR that the same came to be registered on the directions issued by the police complaints authority against five accused persons for an offense under Sections 498-A, 377 IPC r/w 34 IPC and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act. The petitioners were arrayed as A-2 to A-5. The 1st petitioner is the mother-in-law, the 2nd petitioner is the bother-in-law, the 3rd petitioner is the wife of the brother-in-law and the 4th petitioner is the sister-in-law.

3. The investigation was completed and a final report was filed before the Court below and the same was taken on file for an offense under Section 498A IPC r/w Section 34 IPC and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act insofar as the petitioners are concerned.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that there was no valid marriage between the 2nd respondent and A-1 and the marriage itself is null and void since it was conducted by concealing the first marriage of the 2nd respondent. A petition has been filed in HMOP No.64 of 2018, by A-1 before the Family Court, Villupuram to declare the marriage as null and void. The learned counsel further submitted that the 2nd respondent and A-1 hardly lived together and therefore there was absolutely no occasion for the petitioners to have indulged in any act of cruelty or make demand for the payment of dowry. The learned counsel further submitted that the FIR was registered on the directions issued by the police complaints authority and this Court has already held that the said authority does not have any power or jurisdiction to issue such directions. To substantiate the said submission, the learned counsel brought to the notice of this Court the order passed by this Court in WP.No.21587/2019, dt.30.07.2019.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioners further submitted that the 2nd respondent had given a very similar complaint even against her 1st husband and an FIR was registered in Crime No.14/2014, by the 1st respondent and ultimately the matter was settled between the parties and it was quashed by this Court. Therefore, the 2nd respondent is in the habit of giving such false complaints. The learned counsel further contended that the 2nd respondent also initiated Domestic Violence proceedings against her husband and the petitioners. The proceedings against the petitioners came to be quashed by this Court in Crl.OP.No.22917 of 2018, by order dt.14.03.2019. Thereafter, the proceedings were continued against A-1 and it was dismissed by an order dt.21.09.2020. This order will have a bearing in the present case since the petition was filed by the 2nd respondent with the very same allegations.

6. The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the 2nd respondent submitted that the petitioners filed a discharge petition before the Court below and while the same was pending, the present quash petition has been filed before this Court and hence this petition is liable to be dismissed on that ground. The learned counsel further submitted that A-1 and the petitioners are closely related to the 2nd respondent and all of them were aware about the first marriage and they cannot be allowed to feign ignorance about the first marriage. The learned counsel also drew the attention of this Court to the allegations made in the complaint and also in the statement recorded under Section 161 of Cr.P.C., against the petitioners and submitted that the same makes out the prima facie case against the petitioners and there is no scope for interfering with the proceedings at this stage. The learned counsel submitted that as against the dismissal of the Domestic Violence case, an appeal has be