The court emphasized that vague allegations against relatives in dowry cases can lead to misuse of legal provisions, necessitating specific evidence for prosecution.

ORDER :

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners-accused Nos.4 to 8 seeking to quash the proceedings against them in C.C.No.3056 of 2022 on the file of XV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad. The offences alleged against the petitioners are under Section 498-A, 406, 506 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘ IPC ’) and section 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act (for short ‘the Act’).

2. Heard M/s.Mohd. Muzaferullah Khan, learned counsel for the petitioners-accused Nos.4 to 8 and Smt.S.Madhavi, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor for the State. Inspite of substitute service vide paper publication which is filed on record, there is no representation on behalf of respondent No.2. Perused the record.

3. In brief, the case of the prosecution is that the marriage of the accused No.1 with the respondent No.2 was solemnized in August, 2017. After marriage she led happy life for a couple of days and later her in laws started passing remarks over the jahez articles and abused her in filthy language. In the month of November, 2017 her husband went to Dubai by leaving her at the mercy of her in laws, in his absence her in laws used to harass her physically and mentally and forcibly took away all gold ornaments and ill treated her. Later in January, 2018 she joined her husband at Dubai, but he did not take care of her and ill treated and harassed her physically and mentally. On 13.02.2018 on the instigation of her in laws her husband took her back to India and he again left to Dubai on 16.02.2018 leaving respondent No.2 in India and her in laws treated her as a maid servant and did not provide minimum necessities. She informed the said ill treatment to her husband when her husband came back from Dubai after 8 days, but he did not take care. The petitioners are trying to perform second marriage for want of additional dowry and on 24.02.2018 they demanded 2 lakhs of additional dowry and when her parents expressed their disability she was driven out of the matrimonial home and also threatened her with dire consequences. On 08.07.2018 the petitioners went to her parents house and picked up quarrel with her and insisted to take divorce. Hence, the respondent No.2 filed the present case for the offences under Sections 498-A, 406, 506 of IPC and sections 4 and 6 of the Act.

4. Learned counsel for petitioners submitted that the petitioners are nothing to do with the alleged offences and that they never harassed the respondent No.2. Being the sisters, brothers and brother in law of the accused No.1 they were implicated in the present case on the allegation of demand of additional dowry and that the petitioners are residing at different places having different abode than that of the accused No.1 and they are leading their respective lives separately. The petitioners submit that there are no specific allegations against them and the police at the time of filing charge sheet has not taken into consideration that there is no prima facie evidence against them and filed the charge sheet. It is submitted that even if the entire version of the prosecution is assumed to be true, then also, there is no specific role or specific allegations against the petitioners to attract the alleged offences. The petitioner-accused No.4 is the sister, the petitioner-accused No.5 is another sister, the petitioner-accused No.6 is brother, the petitioner-accused No.7 is another brother of accused No.1 and petitioner-accused No.8 is the husband of accused No.5 and they are residing separately from the petitioner-accused No.1 and respondent No.2. The petitioners-accused Nos.4 to 8 never interfered in the matrimonial issues of respondent No.2 and the accused No.1. The petitioners never demanded any dowry from respondent No.2 or from her parents. There are no specific allegations against the petitioners- accused Nos.4 to 8. The contents of the complaint or charge sheet do not disclose the required ingredients to attract the offences under Sections 498-A of