ORDER

The present petition is filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashment of RCT No.151/2018, in which the cognizance has been taken under Section 406 of the IPC by JMFC, Ratlam.

Facts of the case are that the respondent filed a private complaint before the Magistrate on 5/9/2017 for the offences under Section 406, 420 of the IPC stating that she got married to the petitioner no.1 on 27/4/2003 and, thereafter, she was subjected to cruelty and besides that the petitioners took her valuables which were given to her in her marriage and did not return them. She further alleged that a list of household articles as well as jewellery were given to her as stree dhan which have been misappropriated by the petitioners. She was given assurance that a locker will be opened in her name and the aforesaid valuables will be kept in the said locker but no locker was opened. The learned Trial Court after recording the statements of the complainant under Section 200 of the Cr.P.C and of her witnesses under Section 202 of Cr.P.C passed the impugned order directing registration of a criminal case against the petitioners under Section 406 of the IPC.

Counsel for the petitioners has challenged the impugned order of taking cognizance of offence under Section 406 IPC mainly on the ground that the present complaint is nothing but abuse of the process of law. The said complaint was filed suppressing the fact that the respondent has already filed a criminal case at Police Station - Audhyogik Kshetra, Ratlam on the same allegations. Thus, the second complaint in respect of the same incident/transaction is impermissible and is liable to be quashed. In support of his contention he has relied on a judgment passed by the Apex Court in the case Krishna lal Chawla and others Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and another reported in (2021) 5 SCC 435.

Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent supported the order impugned and submitted that there is no abuse of the process of law. The respondent lodged an F.I.R against the petitioners on 18/7/2017 at Police Station - Audhyogik kshetra, Ratlam for commission of offences under Section 498-A/34 of IPC which was trasferred to P.S - Rathanjana, District - Pratapgarh, Rajasthan for further action and Police Station - Rathanjana, registered an F.I.R No.67/2017 on 29/7/2017 for commission of offences under Sections 498-A and 406 of IPC and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act against the petitioners. It is further submitted that the respondent has not made any allegation for commission of breach of trust in the said complaint and the said complaint was only in respect of cruelty on the part of the petitioners to her.

The allegation in the said complaint was different from the complaint made by the respondent in the present case. It is further submitted that Police Station -

Rathanjana carried out investigation and after completion of the investigation the Police filed the charge-sheet only against the petitioner No.1- Chandraveer Singh, husband and, thereafter, the Magistrate, Pratapgarh, Rajasthan has framed the charges under Section 498-A, 406 of IPC and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act only against the petitioner No.1 who is the husband of the respondent. If the petitioners are aggrieved by the framing of the charges under Section 406 of IPC and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act by the concerned Court, Pratapgarh at Rajasthan, they should take resort to the legal remedy against the same. In the said complaint the respondent has not made allegation to any breach of trust. The said report was only in respect of cruelty under Section 498(A). The petitioners raised an objection before the learned Magistrate, Ratlam in criminal case no. 151/2018 that the complaint is not maintainable because for the same incident a case has already been filed at Police Station - Rathanjan, District - Pratapgarh, Rajasthan. The said application was rejected vide order dated 4/2/2019. The said order was