JUDGMENT :

K.M. JOSEPH, J.

1. The second respondent, in this appeal generated by special leave, got registered a First Information Report which invoked Sections 201, 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the IPC’ for short) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Briefly, the contents of the complaint are as follows:

The appellant married the second respondent’s daughter on 22.04.2004. The father of the appellant made a demand for an Alto car and Rs. 2 lakhs for admission of Vishnu in B.Ed. He did not accept the demand for dowry, and even at the time of marriage, he made a demand of Rs. 4 lakhs. There is reference to his daughter informing her mother that her mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband, brother-in-law and sister-in-law used to beat her and torture her to bring dowry. There is reference to telephone call that his daughter was critical. It was made on 08.09.2010 and when they reached there, the daughter was not there. Upon insisting, the mother-in-law of second respondent’s daughter told them that they had taken her somewhere to some hospital. Search was made at many hospitals but the daughter could not be found. Thereafter