THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.15748 of 2024

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘the BNSS’) seeking to quash the proceedings against the petitioner/accused No.2 in C.C.No.8375 of 2022 on the file of the learned II Additional Junior Civil Judge-cum-XIII Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Medchal-Malkajgiri District at Kukatpally, registered for the offences punishable under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, ‘IPC’) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (for short, ‘DP Act’)

2. The brief facts of the case are that respondent No.2/de- facto complainant lodged a complaint before the Police stating that her marriage with accused No.1 was solemnized in the presence of elders. At the time of marriage, her father had given a house at Habsiguda, Rs.15,00,000/- in cash, Rs.3,00,000/- each to her two sisters-in-law, 55 tulas of gold, and Rs.25,00,000/- towards engagement and marriage expenses.

Thereafter, they blessed with a baby boy. After the marriage, her husband began harassing her both mentally and physically, as he did not like her and the petitioner, along with his sisters, also harassed and tortured her, demanding additional dowry. Six months ago, her husband quarreled with her and went to his sister’s house. She waited for him for three months; when he did not return, she went to her mother- in-law’s house. There, her mother-in-law continued to torture her to leave the house. On 24.01.2022, they convened a panchayat in the presence of the Sarpanch and falsely accused her of various wrongdoings in order to evict her from the house. On 25.01.2022, her elder sister-in-law’s husband used force and influences to neck her out from the house. Furthermore, her younger sister-in-law and her husband pressured her to transfer some acres of land in favor of their daughter.

3. Basing on the said complaint, the Police registered a case in Crime No.112 of 2022 for the offence punishable under Section 498-A of IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of DP Act and after completion of investigation, they filed the charge sheet, vide C.C.No.8375 of 2022, before the learned II Additional Junior Civil Judge cum XIII Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Medchal-Malkajgiri District at Kukatpally. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner filed the present criminal petition to quash the proceeding against her.

4. Heard Sri J. Pradeep Kiran, learned counsel for petitioner, Sri M. Vivekananda Reddy, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, appearing for respondent No.1-State and Ms. E. Roja Ramani, learned counsel for respondent No.2.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is in no way connected with the alleged offences. She has never resided with accused No.1 and the de facto complainant, as she has been residing in Devaruppula Village, where she is engaged in agricultural activities and that the de-facto complainant visited the petitioner’s residence solely with the intention of falsely implicating her in the present case. In fact, the complainant created a nuisance at the petitioner’s house and even attempted to forcibly evict her. Aggrieved by such conduct, the petitioner lodged a complaint with the local police, pursuant to which a case was registered vide Crime No.7 of 2022 for the offences punishable under Sections 341, 427, 290 read with Section 34 of IPC and further submitted that the present petition is nothing but a counterblast to the criminal complaint filed by the petitioner against the de-facto complainant. The allegations in the present case are vague, baseless, and motivated by malice, with the sole intention to harass the petitioner and accused No.1. Therefore, he prayed the Court to quash the proceedings against the petitioner by allowing this criminal petition.

6. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondent No.2 submitted that the police, after due investigation,