Charges under Section 495 IPC cannot be maintained without a complaint from the aggrieved party, and civil court findings on marriage validity are binding on criminal courts.

ORDER :

1. This Criminal Original Petition has been filed to quash the charge sheet in C.C.No.80 of 2022 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Nilakottai.

2. The case of the prosecution is that the marriage between the first accused and the defacto complainant was solemnized on 09.09.2013 at T.S. Sekaran Thirumana Mahal, Nilakottai. At the time of marriage the family of the first accused represented that he was working as Bank Employee in Madurai . Thereafter the first accused called the defacto complainant over phone and informed that she has to appear before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court for a case relating to HCP (MD) No.94 of 2014. On enquiry the defacto complainant came to know that one Sankara Narayanan claiming that the first accused is his wife and she was in illegal custody of her father and further came to know that the said Sankara Narayanan and the first accused fell in love and got married at Sri Ponneswari Amman Temple, Trichy and registered their marriage before District Registrar Office, Trichy on 19.06.2012. Suppressing the first marriage the other accused persons arranged marriage of the first accused with the defacto complainant and when the same was questioned by the accused, they threatened the defacto complainant, abused him in filthy language . Thereafter complaint was lodged by the defacto complainant and the first respondent registered a case in Crime No. 365 of 2014 for the offences under Sections 463, 464, 468, 469, 471, 420 and 506(i) of IPC and thereafter the first respondent conducted detailed investigation and also filed final report and the same was taken on file in C.C.No.80 of 2022 by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Nilakottai.. Now the petitioner who is arrayed as fourth accused is challenging the final report.

3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit the petitioner is an innocent and he has not committed any offence as alleged by the defacto complainant. The petitioner is the brother of the first accused and his sister married the said Sankara Narayanan. Infact the said Sankara Narayanan is the petitioner's brother and the said Sankara Narayanan misused the certificate of her sister and created forged documents. Now challenging the said marriage his sister also filed a suit in O.S.No.31 of 2015 on the file of the Family Court, Madurai and the same is also pending. The sister of the petitioner also filed HMOP No.24 of 2019 before the Principal Sub Court, Dindigul and the marriage with the second respondent also got dissolved through an order dated 09.09.2023. In such circumstances the respondent police without conducting proper investigation filed final report against the petitioner and the trial Court also taken cognizance without any prima facie materials. Further as against A1 to A3 and A5 to A9 quash petition was filed before this Court in Crl.O.P(MD) NO.21870 of 2023 and the same was allowed by this Court on 24.10.2024. There are no ingredients to constitute the offence as against this petitioner and this petitioner has not solemnized the marriage between the first accused and the second respondent by suppressing the earlier marriage . There was no earlier marriage between the petitioner's sister and the Sankara Narayanan and there is no any dishonest intention to constitute the offence of cheating. There is no ingredients to constitute the offence under Section 506(i) of IPC, therefore the pending proceedings in C.C.No.80 of 2022 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Nilakottai is liable to be quashed.

4. The learned Government Advocate(Crl.Side) appearing for the first respondent would submit that based on the complaint given by the second respondent a case has been registered against the petitioner in Crime No. 365 of 2014 for the offences under Sections 463, 464, 468, 469, 471, 420 and 506(i) of IPC and thereafter they conducted investigation and as per the investigation already the petitioner's sister namely the first accused got reg