IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS Reserved on : 30.06.2023 Pronounced on : 07.07.2023 CORAM:

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.NIRMAL KUMAR CRL.O.P.No.27020 of 2022 and Crl.M.P.Nos. 16586 & 16587 of 2022

1. Dhanapalan ... 1^st Petitioner / 2^nd Accused 2.Vasantha ... 2^nd Petitioner / 3^rd Accused 3.Bruntha ... 3^rd Petitioner / 4^th Accused Vs.

1.Inspector of Police All Women Police Station, Manargudi, Manargudi Taluk, Thiruvarur District. ... 1^st Respondent / Complainant

2.Sarunya Devi ... 2^nd Respondent / Defacto Complainant PRAYER: Criminal Original Petitions filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to call for the records and quash the proceedings in C.C.No.194 of 2022 pending on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate Court No.1, Manargudi.

For Petitioners : Mr.T.Gowthaman, Senior Counsel For Ms.Rohini Ravikumar For Respondent-1 : Mr.A.Gokulakrishnan, Additional Public Prosecutor For Respondent-2 : Mr.V.Jayakumar

O R D E R

Seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.194 of 2022 pending on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.1, Manargudi, the petitioners are before this Court with this Criminal Original Petition.

2. The facts leading to file the present petition are that:

(i) The gist of the case is that on 25.10.2013, the 2^nd respondent / defacto complainant married one Loganathan, who is arrayed as A1 in this case, at Marina Mahal, Thiruvarur. At the time of the marriage, the parents of the defacto complainant gifted 22 Sovereigns of gold jewels to her, 5 Sovereigns to her husband/A1, Maruthi K-10 Car worth about Rs.4.75 Lakhs, along with the utensils, household articles worth about rupees two lakhs. After the marriage, the 1^st accused/husband and the petitioners herein, who are in-laws of the defacto complainant, harassed her by demanding additional dowry of Rs.5,00,000/- and luxury car. At the instigation of A4, A1 had abused and beaten the defacto complainant by demanding more dowry. In the meanwhile, the defacto complainant delivered a female child; her husband/A1 left her in her parental home nearly nine months never bothered to visit and enquire about the second respondent and the new born child and later, on the advice of elders of both sides, she was taken to matrimonial home. The 2^nd and 3^rd petitioners herein made comments that the defacto complainant and A1 are dusky skin, but the child is a fair skin, something else in the birth of the child. Since the in-laws are continuously giving torture by demanding dowry, the defacto complainant lodged a complaint before the Inspector of Police, All Women Police Station, Thiruvarur, the same was taken on file in C.S.R.No.209/2018, after the complaint, A1 endorsed that hereinafter he will never demand dowry. After that, the Company, where A1 working, sent him to the Poland Country, for training. A1 took her along with the child to Poland and continued to harass, gave mental stress to her, at the instance of her in-laws.

(ii) After that, in the school function in Poland Country, where the defacto complainant's daughter was studying, A1 attacked the defacto complainant, she sustained injuries on the forehead and shoulder, immediately, Ambulance was called, for medical help. In this regard, on the complaint of the 2^nd respondent, Poland Police arrested her husband, freezed his passport. Later, A1 took steps for compromise through his company officials. Believing their words, she withdrew the complaint and on that basis, the proceedings of the Poland Police, as against her husband/A1 dropped. In the meantime, since the Visa was to expire, they returned to India. Later, she was forced to stay in her parental home without any means to lead the life with her daughter. Therefore, the defacto complainant lodged the complaint before the 1^st respondent, on 12.08.2021 and the same was registered in Crime No.11 of 2021 under Sections 498(A) and 506(i) of IPC. r/w. Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2005. On completion of investigation