COMMON O RDER:

1. These instant petitions under Section 4 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 , for short ' Cr.P.C ' have been filed by the Petitioners/Accused Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively, seeking quashment of proceedings against them in C.C. No. 585 of 2022 on the file of the Court of II Additional Munsif Magistrate, Ongole, for the offence punishable under Section 4 98-A read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 , for short ' IPC ' and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 , for short 'DP Act'. Since all these criminal petitions are seeking to quash the proceedings out of the same C.C., they are decided together by this common order.

Background leading to the filing of these Petitions

2. The case of Respondent No.2/Complainant, in brief, is as follows:

a. Respondent No. 2 was originally male and, having transitioned to female, has become a woman. While residing in Chennai, Respondent No. 2 became acquainted with the Petitioner/Accused No. 1, and their acquaintance developed into a romantic relationship. Despite being aware that Respondent No. 2 is a transgender woman, Petitioner/Accused No. 1 continued the relationship with her. Upon learning about their affa