498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022 - Madhya Pradesh High Court – Misuse of Section 498A IPC by making false allegations against the in-laws. FIR Quashed.
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| 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022 |
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Mr. S.S. Seshan vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 24.08.2022
498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022 – In this article, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the allegations made against the in-laws were false in nature. Madhya Pradesh High Court further held that it is clear from reading the FIR that no specific allegations are made against the in-laws and the FIR has been lodged after the divorce petition has been filed by the husband. The allegations made against the in-laws do not attract the provisions of Section 498A. Therefore, the criminal proceeding against the in-laws is hereby quashed.
Case brief - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
According to the facts mentioned in FIR, filed by the wife, the marriage
of the husband and the wife was solemnized on 15.12.2018 at Gwalior as per
their rites & religion. Thereafter, on 18.12.2018, the wife came to Mumbai
and found that the husband’s home was not as good as it was described by him
before their marriage.
During her stay in Mumbai, the family members complained that the dowry
given by the parents of the wife was not adequate and the father of the wife had
not given a car as the dowry.
The wife along with her husband went to Munnar (Kerla) on 24.12.2018 for their honeymoon and spent four days there. The wife came back to Delhi on 01.01.2019.
Thereafter, on 09.02.2019 the husband came to Gwalior to attend the
funeral/last rites of the grandmother of the wife.
During his stay at Gwalior, the husband pressurized the wife to fulfill the
dowry demand. Upon this complaint, the FIR for the offence punishable under Section 498A, 506,34 IPC, and section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act was registered
against the family members at police station Maharajpura, District Gwalior.
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Arguments - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
Advocate appearing for the petitioners submitted that the wife is the daughter-in-law of the father-in-law and wife of the husband. The wife left her matrimonial home in Mumbai on the pretext of resigning from her job in Delhi.
However, when the husband inquired about her resignation and returned back to Mumbai, the wife was reluctant to give any details as she was not in a position to resign from her job due to her family problems.
The petitioners and their family members kept on requesting the wife to
come back to Mumbai, which she never did. Ultimately, the husband filed a case
for divorce under section 13B of the Hindu Marriages Act, 1955, and only after
receipt of summons from the Family Court, Mumbai, did the wife initiate the
criminal proceedings against the petitioners.
Arguments - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
It is further argued that the FIR filed by the wife is barred by time and there is no explanation for the delay in lodging of the FIR by the wife.
The WhatsApp chats between the husband and the wife, filed with this petition,
clearly prove that the wife never wanted to leave her job in Delhi and live in
Mumbai and, therefore, she never came back to join her husband.
The criminal proceedings have been started by the wife with an oblique
motive. Therefore, FIR lodged by the wife and the consequential criminal proceedings
be quashed.
Arguments - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
On the other hand, the advocate for the wife argued that the allegations
made in the FIR are serious in nature and the wife has been harassed in order
to fulfill the dowry demand.
Further, even if the contentions made by the wife herein are disputed,
by the petitioners, their veracity can be tested in trial before the Trial
Court.
It is further submitted that the Apex court in various cases has clearly
held that even if a prima facie case is made disclosing all the ingredients of
an offence, Court should not quash the complaint. Therefore, this petition
should be dismissed.
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Referred cases - 498A quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
1. Kamlesh
Kalra & Another v. Shilpika Kalra
2. Kahkashan Kausar @ Sonam and Others v State of Bihar and Others
3. Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar
4.
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Court opinion - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
In this case, the contents of the FIR reveal that the wife has hardly resided
for a week in Mumbai with the family members of the husband from her arrival
there on 18.12.2018. The FIR also reveals that the wife did not establish any physical
relations with the husband during her stay and the marriage was not
consummated.
Further, the facts mentioned in the FIR show that the wife came back to
Delhi on 01.01.2019. During this short span of time, the wife alleged to have
been harassed by the petitioners for dowry demands.
The allegations made in the FIR show that allegedly the offence of dowry
demand and harassment occurred from 18.12.2018 to 09.02.2019. However, the
record reveals that the wife has never filed any report at any police station
about the harassment until 09.05.2022, after a period of more than three years.
Court opinion - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
It is not in dispute that the husband has filed a case for divorce
against the wife. The document filed along with the complaint shows that the
notice with respect to said divorce petition was issued on 18.02.2022 for the appearance of the wife, before Family Court, Mumbai on 23.03.2022.
It is clear that the FIR has been lodged after more than three years
only after receiving the notice of the divorce petition. There is no material
to show for whatever reason the wife failed to file the complaint on which the
FIR was registered on 09.05.2022, i.e.; beyond the period of limitation of
three years.
Thus, there is no justification for the delay in filing the complaint
beyond the period of limitation and there is no allegation that any physical
or mental harassment continued against the wife.
Court opinion - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
It is a settled law that the offence under Section 498A is a continuous
offense, but at present, there is no explanation for the delay in lodging of
the FIR by the wife. Admittedly, the wife left the matrimonial home on 01.01.2019.
There is no mention that she ever met her father-in-law after leaving Mumbai on
01.01.2019.
As per the allegations after leaving the matrimonial home, the husband
visited the wife only once in Gwalior on 19.02.2019 at her parent's home to
attend the last rites of her grandmother.
The wife never visited her matrimonial home. Under these circumstances,
lodging the FIR. only after filing of the divorce petition by the wife itself
shows that the FIR is a counter-blast of the divorce petition as there is no
allegation that any physical or mental harassment has been continued against the
wife after 09.02.2019.
Court opinion - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
In view of the
above discussion, this petition is allowed and the FIR registered at police
station Maharajpura, District Gwalior for the offence punishable under Section 498A, 506, 34 of IPC and section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act as well as the criminal
proceedings pending before the Court are hereby quashed.
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Conclusion - 498A Quash after Chargesheet 24.08.2022
In this article, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the
allegations made against the in-laws are false in nature. It is clear from the
FIR that the allegations were made without attributing any specific avert act
done by them just to wreak vengeance after receiving the notice of divorce
petition filed by the husband.
Therefore, the FIR against the petitioners is hereby quashed.
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