1985 Supreme(Online)(SC) 38
Judgement Key Points
- Petitioner Pratibha Rani filed a criminal complaint against her husband Suraj Kumar, his father, brothers, and brother-in-law under sections 405 and 406 IPC for criminal breach of trust regarding dowry articles worth Rs. 60,000 given at marriage, alleging entrustment at the time of 'doli' and refusal to return despite demands. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Articles included gold ornaments, diamond set, silver items, clothes, sarees, suits, bedsheets, etc., specified as wife's stridhan for her exclusive use, never given to her, retained dishonestly by accused. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- High Court quashed complaint relying on prior view that stridhan becomes joint property in matrimonial home, no entrustment, only civil remedy available. (!) (!)
- Stridhan of Hindu married woman is her absolute property during coverture; she has unqualified ownership, can dispose freely; husband has no right except in extreme distress, must restore later. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Entrustment of stridhan to husband is like bank deposit; wife retains title, husband is custodian/trustee; dishonest refusal to return constitutes criminal breach of trust u/s 405/406 IPC. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Stridhan does not become joint/partnership property upon entering matrimonial home; no fiction of joint custody eliminates s.406 IPC applicability; partnership requires specific agreement to share profits/losses, absent here. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Criminal remedy not barred by civil remedies (e.g., suit u/s 27 Hindu Marriage Act or s.14 Hindu Succession Act); remedies co-extensive, not exclusive; s.27 provides alternate civil relief only. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Complaint allegations disclose prima facie offence u/s 406 IPC: entrustment at marriage, dishonest retention/misappropriation, refusal despite demands/notice; High Court cannot quash u/s 482 CrPC by assessing merits prematurely. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Crimes in matrimonial home punishable like elsewhere; husband/family cannot misappropriate wife's stridhan merely due to custody; no need for 'special written agreement' for entrustment in such cases. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- High Court powers u/s 482 CrPC to quash limited: only if allegations per se disclose no offence, absurd/improbable, or fundamental defect; here, clear/specific allegations warrant trial. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
- Dissent: No entrustment without specific separate agreement; joint possession in matrimonial home presumed; criminal proceedings harm harmony, prefer civil suit. (!) (!) (!)
PETITIONER:
PRATIBHA RANI Vs.
RESPONDENT:
SURAJ KUMAR & ANR.
DATE OF JUDGMENT12/03/1985 BENCH:
FAZALALI, SYED MURTAZA BENCH:
FAZALALI, SYED MURTAZA MUKHARJI, SABYASACHI (J)
VARADARAJAN, A. (J)
CITATION:
1985 AIR 628 1985 SCR (3) 191
1985 SCC (2) 370 1985 SCALE (1)458 CITATOR INFO :
RF 1986 SC 833 (50)
RF 1992 SC 604 (103)
ACT:
Nature, character and concomitants of stridhan-Right of exclusive ownership over the stridhan during coverture- Whether the dowry/stridhan given to a wife and her exclusive property becomes a joint property/partnership property by a fiction of being placed in the custody of her husband and her relations, the moment a married woman enters her matrimonial home-Indian Partnership Act, 1932, section 4. Dowry Prohibition Act (28 of 1961) sections 2 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 section 27 Hindu Succession Act Section 14 Indian Penal Code, sections 405, 406 and 482.
Remedies open under law-Whether criminal remedy is barred when civil remedy is available simultaneously.
Entrustment-Charge Or Criminal breach of trust by wife against her husband and his close relations maintainability- Essential ingredients of an offence section 405/406 Indian Penal Code.
Inherent powers of the High Court
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