IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH

AT JABALPUR

BEFORE

HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE B. P. SHARMA

th

ON THE 5 OF JANUARY, 2026

MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 1809 of 2021

JITENDRA CHOUHAN AND OTHERS

Versus

SANGITA CHOUHAN

Appearance:

Shri Aviral Vikas Khare - Advocate for the petitioners through video

conferencing.

None for the respondent.

ORDER respondent/complainant under Section 200 Cr.P.C. against the petitioners, alleging herself to be the wife of Petitioner No.1 and alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 498-A, 406, 323, and 34 IPC. Petitioner No.1 is alleged to be her husband, while Petitioner Nos.2 and 3 are his parents, and Petitioner Nos.4 and 5 are his sisters. It is submitted that the learned Trial Court, without following the procedure prescribed under Section 202 Cr.P.C., mechanically took cognizance of the complaint and issued notices to the petitioners vide order dated 09.10.2018. It is further submitted that the respondent suppressed the material fact of her previous subsisting marriage with Bhuvnesh Chouhan, rendering the alleged marriage with Petitioner No.1 null and void ab initio under the Hindu Marriage Act. This position has been upheld by this Court in Criminal Revision No.725/2018 (Smt. Sangita Chouhan Vs. Jitendra Chouhan), wherein it was held by order dated 23.01.2019 that the respondent is not the legally wedded wife of Jitendra Chouhan (Petitioner No.1 herein) and is therefore not entitled to maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C., 1973. It is also submitted that the present complaint is a counterblast to FIR Crime No.227/2017 lodged by Petitioner No.1 against the respondent and her relatives under Sections 496, 417, 384, and 120-B IPC. A charge-sheet was filed on 08.01.2018 against the respondent and other co-accused. The respondent had also filed a petition for quashment of the charge-sheet [M.Cr.C. No.10199/2017 (Smt. Sangita Chouhan & others Vs. State of MP & others), which was subsequently withdrawn.

This petition has been filed under Section 482 of Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 (corresponding to Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) by the petitioners, seeking quashment of the criminal complaint and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom, pending before the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bhopal, in RCT No.9910853/2017 (Sangita Chouhan vs. Jitendra Chouhan & Others), in respect of offences alleged to be punishable under Sections 498-A, 406, 323

and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that a criminal

complaint registered as RCT No.9910853/2017 was filed by the

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the application filed by the respondent under Section 125 Cr.P.C. was dismissed by Family Court as well as this Court, holding that the respondent was not the legally married wife of petitioner No.1. It is further submitted that application filed under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bhopal, was allowed without proper discussion of the evidence and facts of the case, and Appellate Court merely affirmed the order without establishing that any domestic violence had taken place against the respondent. Assailing the aforesaid orders, petitioners have filed Criminal Revision No.5531/2024 (Jitendra Chouhan & others Vs. Smt. Sangita Chouhan), by order dated 16.07.2025, the aforesaid orders have been quashed by this Court. It is therefore prayed that criminal complaint and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom against the petitioners may be quashed.

4 . It is a settled position of law that for an offence of cruelty under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, the complainant must be the legally wedded wife of the accused-husband. In the present case, the complainant/respondent, who already had a living spouse, could not have been the legally wedded wife of Petitioner No.1 without termination of her previous marriage by a decree