The court emphasized the need for specific allegations in matrimonial disputes to prevent misuse of law, particularly Section 498A IPC.

ORAL ORDER

The petitioners are before the Court calling in question proceedings in C.C.No.2137/2022 registered for the offences punishable under Sections 3 23 , 498A, 504, 506 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code , 1860 ('the IPC ' for short) and Sections 3 , 4 and 6(1)(b) of the Dowry Prohibition Act , 1961.

2. Heard the learned counsel Shri Umesh P.B., appearing for the petitioners, learned HCGP Shri K. Nageshwarappa, appearing for respondent No.1., and learned counsel Shri H.S. Shankar appearing for respondent No.2.

3. The petitioners are accused Nos. 1, 2 and 4. The second respondent is the complainant. The complainant is the wife of the 1stpetitioner - accused No.1. Accused No.1 and the complainant get married on 30.01.2020. Two years thereafter, it transpires that the relationship between the husband and the wife flounders. On floundering of the relationship, proceedings are instituted by the husband against the wife, or wife against the husband. The wife then registers a complaint on 08.06.2022 which becomes a crime in Crime No. 60/2022 registered for the aforementioned offences. The registration of the crime leads to investigation. Investigation leads to filing of the charge-sheet against all the accused. After filing of the charge-sheet, the petitioners are before this Court calling in question the proceedings in C.C.No.2137/2022. This Court protected further trial against accused Nos. 2 and 3 while permitted the trial to go on against the husband - accused No.1.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that on a perusal of the complaint or the summary of the charge sheet, none of the allegations that are levelled against these petitioners would bring out the ingredients that are necessary to proceed for further trial. The learned counsel would submit that the sister-in-law and the mother-in-law are drawn into the web of crime without any rhyme or reason. He would seek quashment of the proceedings including a contention that the husband also does not have any allegation against him that can become a crime for offence punishable under Section 498A of the IPC .

5. The learned counsel Shri H. S. Shankar appearing for respondent No.2 would vehemently refute the submission, in contending that the allegations in the complaint and the charge sheet clearly bring out the ingredients of the offences alleged against all the petitioners. Therefore, it is a matter of trial for the petitioners to come out clean.

6. The Learned HCGP would also toe the lines of the learned counsel appearing for the complainant in seeking dismissal of the petition.

7. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and I have perused the material on record.

8. The afore-narrated facts are all a matter of record. The first petitioner and the respondent get married in 2020 and the relationship is said to have floundered immediately. The several proceedings including annulment of marriage or seeking maintenance are galore between the two. The subject issue concerns the registration of the crime. A complaint comes to be registered on 08.06.2022 by respondent No.2 - wife against the present petitioners. The complaint reads as follows:

The police conduct investigation and file a charge-sheet against these petitioners. The summary of the charge sheet as obtaining in column number 17 reads as follows:

If the complaint and the summary of the charge sheet are juxtaposed, what would unmistakably emerge is, the allegations against the sister-in-law and the mother-in-law are loosely laid. The ingredients of Sections 498A or 323 or 504 or 506 IPC are comple