ORDER

1. This petition under section 482 of Cr.P.C. has been preferred for quashment of FIR bearing Crime No.49/2021 registered at police station Mahila Thana, Agar Malwa, District Agar Malwa against the applicants for the offence punishable under sections 294, 323/34 and 498-A of IPC and also subsequent criminal proceedings pending against them.

2. Factual matrix giving rise to the instant case for just and proper adjudication of this petition are that applicants' son Rahul Ahirwar was married to the non-applicant No.2/complainant around three years back on 24.4.2019, as per Hindu rites and rituals. Complainant's father had given all the things of household according to his status. Applicants and their son co-accused Rahul initially treated the complainant well but thereafter, they started taunting her regarding dowry and told her to bring Rs.10.00 lacs from her father in order to purchase a plot at Ujjain Road. They also told her to bring jewellery and when the complainant denied saying her father is a retired person and unable to arrange that much amount, applicants told her to go back to her parents house and they will remarry their son. On 3.11.2021, at the time of Diwali, when the complainant was at her parental house, her husband came there and told her to take money from her parents for the purchase of plot. On 20.11.2021, when co-accused Rahul had beaten her, she made a phone call to her sister-in-law, who warned complainant's husband not to do any cruelty with her otherwise, they will file a complaint in the police station. Thereafter, complainant's husband left the complainant to her sister-in-law's residence at Sonwaye. The complainant called her brother who had taken her away to Agar to her parental home. Applicants and co-accused Rahul had tortured her physically and mentally. Thereafter, on 25.11.2021, she approached the police and on her oral complaint, FIR bearing Crime No.49/2021 was registered at police station Mahila Thana, Agar Malwa, District Agar Malwa against the applicants and their son co-accused Rahul for the offence punishable under sections 294, 323/34 and 498-A of IPC. After completion of investigation, charge-sheet was filed. Hence, the instant petition under section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed by the applicants for quashment of FIR and subsequent criminal proceedings.

3. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that applicants never made any demand of dowry and only vague and omnibus allegations with regard to demand of dowry have been made against them. The list of gift items said to be given by the complainant's parents to the applicants are of no value as no receipt of the dowry items has been produced. The complainant's father has no financial capacity to pay the amount alleged to be demanded by the applicants hence, the allegations alleged against the applicants are totally false and baseless. Admittedly, complainant was residing with her husband separately at Indore, while the applicants are living in their home-town at Shujalpur. Applicants have been falsely impleaded only to create pressure and mental torture over them, which is a clear misuse of provisions of section 498-A of IPC and the same is liable to be quashed. To bolster his submissions, counsel for the applicants has relied upon the following judgements :-

(a) Sandeep Singh Bais and others v. State of M. P. and others, 2017 (3) Crimes 591 (MP)

(b) Preeti Gupta and others v. State of Jharkhand and others, AIR 2010 SC 3363

(c) Geeta Mehrotra and another v. State of U.P. and another, AIR 2013 SC 181

(d) Mirza Iqbal and others v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others, AIR 2022 SC 69

4. Learned counsel for the non-applicant/State as well as nonapplicant No.2/complainant have opposed the prayer and submits that applicants made dowry demand cruelty with the complainant. The allegations alleged against the applicants are substantiated by the submissions of the complainant as well as other independent witnesses. Therefore, at this stag