IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT GWALIOR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MILIND RAMESH PHADKE st ON THE 21 OF JANUARY, 2026 MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 53361 of 2019 SMT. ALKA AND OTHERS Versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS Appearance:

Shri Arun Kumar Paterya - Advocate for the petitioners.

Smt. Anjali Gayanani - Public Prosecutor for the respondent/State.

None for the respondent No.2 though served.

ORDER The present petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. has been filed by the petitioners seeking quashment of FIR bearing crime No.217/2019 registered at Police Station Mahila Thana District Gwalior for offence punishable under Sections 498-A, 506, 34 of IPC and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act as well as criminal case No. 4747/2019 pending before JMFC Gwalior including all consequential proceedings arising from the said FIR.

2. As per case of the prosecution case, marriage of respondent No.2 was solemnized on 18.02.2018 with Yogendra Singh Thakur alias Bunty, son of Rajendra Singh Thakur, resident of Rampuri Mohalla, Shabdpratap Ashram, Lashkar, Gwalior, according to Hindu rites and customs. At the time of marriage, her parents, as per the demands of her in-laws, gave Rs.15,00,000/- in cash and complete household articles including a double bed, almirah, refrigerator, LED TV, AC, and gold ornaments such as rings, necklace, nose ring, four bangles, mangalsutra, gold bracelet, gold hand ornaments, as well as a gold ring for my husband, silver waist chain and silver anklets, utensils, clothes for all in-laws, and additionally spent about Rs.9,00,000/- on marriage arrangements. Within two months of marriage, her husband Yogendra Singh, father-in-law Rajendra Singh, mother-in-law Meena Thakur, sister-in-law Alka Jadaun, and brother-in-law Manish Jadaun started pressuring her to bring an additional Rs.5,00,000 in cash, alleging that insufficient dowry was given. Upon her refusal, she was confined to a room, physically assaulted, prevented from contacting her parental family, and threatened with death if the demand was not fulfilled. Despite enduring continuous cruelty in the hope of improvement, their behavior did not change. On 10.06.2019, the above persons again demanded Rs.5,00,000/- in cash and, upon her inability to comply, assaulted her and forcibly expelled her from the matrimonial home, retaining all her stridhan. She then took shelter with her parents, where she has been residing since then. She submitted an application at Mahila Police Thana Gwalior, on 12.09.2019, and counseling sessions were held on 18.09.2019 and 25.09.2019, but no resolution was reached. On the basis of aforesaid allegations, the present FIR thus was lodged.

3. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that the respondent No.2 initially approached the Mahila Police Thana, Gwalior, on 18.09.2019 and lodged a complaint regarding her matrimonial dispute. A bare perusal of the said complaint would demonstrate that there was not even a remote allegation against the present petitioners. It is further submitted that the matter was fixed for further proceedings on 23.10.2019; however, without waiting for the said date, the prosecutrix submitted another written report on 01.10.2019. In this subsequent report, for the first time, allegations were introduced against the petitioners alleging that they were also pressurizing her to bring an amount of Rs.5,00,000/-. The sudden introduction of allegations after a clear and consistent silence in the earlier complaint and statement unmistakably shows that these allegations are an afterthought. Such belated embellishment, without any plausible explanation, renders the allegations inherently improbable and unworthy of credence.

4. It is further contended that the mala fide intent of the prosecutrix is writ large from the fact that she deliberately furnished incorrect residential addresses of the petitioners in the FIR, showing them to be residents of Hajira, Gwalior. In reality, the petitioners have been re