498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023- Calcutta High Court – General Allegations against the Husband and In-laws, Chargesheet Quashed.
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| 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023 |
498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023- In this article, the Calcutta High Court held that the allegations in the written complaint filed by the wife are general in nature, and all allegations are made only with the intention to harass the husband and In-laws. The facts, materials, and the chargesheet do not make out a prima facie case of a cognizable offense against the husband and In-laws, and there is no material available for proceeding against the husband and In-laws. Therefore, the criminal proceedings against the Husband and In-laws are hereby quashed.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
According to the facts of the case, the marriage between the wife and her husband was solemnized on 04.04.2009 and the marriage was registered on 22.04.2009 and the wife started living with her husband.
It is stated that the relationship between the wife and her husband started deteriorating after the marriage, and the wife started misbehaving with the husband.
It is also stated that on 12.10.2015 the wife left her matrimonial home, and in spite of the best efforts and attempts of the husband and In-laws to bring the wife back to her matrimonial home, the wife refused to return.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
It is further stated that later, the husband filed a suit for divorce before the District Court, Howrah and upon this, the wife filed a complaint at the Police Station against the husband and In-laws under Sections 498A/ 323/ 324/ 313/ 307/ 34 of IPC, and a case was registered on 03.11.2016.
Later, the police filed a chargesheet dated 30.04.2017 against the husband and In-laws, and the Magistrate took cognizance, and the suit was later decreed exparte as the wife suddenly disappeared.
The husband and In-laws have filed the present revision petition for quashing of the criminal proceedings arising out of the case dated 03.11.2016, along with the chargesheet dated 30.04.2017 under Sections 498A/ 323/ 34 of IPC read with Section 3/ 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
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Read the latest Article- 498A Quash Judgement 01.11.2022- Andhra Pradesh High Court - General and Omnibus Allegations against the Brother-in-law. F.I.R Quashed.
Arguments- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
The advocate appearing on behalf of the husband and In-laws submitted that the investigation officer of this case refused to receive any documents from the husband and In-laws and filed the chargesheet arbitrarily, in spite of there being no prima facie case of any cognizable offense against the husband and In-laws.
It is also submitted that the initiation and continuation of the proceedings have amounted to an abuse of the process of the law and the court.
It is further submitted that the magistrate committed an error in law and procedure in taking cognizance on the basis of the chargesheet dated 30.04.2017.
Arguments- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
It is also submitted that before taking cognizance on the basis of the chargesheet under Section 498A/ 323/ 34 of IPC and section 3/ 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, the magistrate should have considered the fact that when the In-laws never spent a single night with the wife and her husband, then allegations under Sections 498A/ 323/ 34 of IPC cannot sustain at all.
Furthermore, it is submitted that the allegations and the materials furnished in support of the allegations do not disclose the commission of the offenses as alleged by the husband and In-laws, and the summoning order passed by the Magistrate is not maintainable in law.
It is also submitted that after the divorce from the husband, the wife is married again to some other man, and some photos of the same have been submitted before the court.
Therefore, he prayed for quashing the proceedings and the summoning order passed by the Magistrate against the husband and In-laws.
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Referred Judgements- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
- Rajesh Sharma and others Vs. State of U.P. & Another
- Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar and another
- G.V. Rao Vs. L.H.V. Prasad and others
- K. Subha Rao Vs. State of Telangana
- M/s Neeharika Infrastructure Vs. State of Maharashtra
- Ranveer Upadhyay and another Vs. State of U.P. and another
- Umesh Kumar Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and another
- Rajiv Thapar Vs. Madan Lal Kapoor
- State of Bihar Vs. P.P Sharma
- Sheonandan Paswan Vs. State of Bihar
- Parkash Singh Badal Vs. State of Punjab
- State of A.P. Vs. Golconda Linga Swamy
- K. Karunakaran Vs. State of Kerala
- State of Maharashtra Vs. Salman Salim Khan
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
It is stated by the court that the High Court can quash the proceedings if the court is convinced that the accused person is innocent and falsely implicated, and it can be done if the ingredients of the offenses alleged are not present.
The court also stated that in one of the above-mentioned cases, the court has held that in cases of such nature, the courts should be careful in the proceedings against the distant relatives of the husband in crimes pertaining to matrimonial disputes and dowry deaths, and the relatives of the husband should only be roped in when the specific instances of the relative’s involvement in the crime are made out.
It is also previously decided by the courts that in a case where there is some substance in the allegations, and there is material to substantiate the complicity of the accused, then the case is to be examined in its full summary, and the proceedings should not be quashed on the ground that the same has been initiated with mala-fides to wreak vengeance.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
It is a well-established proposition of the law that the material collected during the investigation, and the pieces of evidence led in the court decided the fate of the accused person, and the allegations of mala-fides against the informant are of consequence, and it cannot be the basis for quashing of the proceedings.
The court further stated that in the present case, the marriage took place in the year 2009 and the complaint has been lodged in the year 2016 which is after seven years of marriage, and the allegations in the written complaint filed by the wife are general in nature, stating that the wife was tortured since the day after her marriage.
The court also stated that the wife has alleged that she was forced to have an abortion four times, but during the investigation, the wife has stated that she did not go to any doctor during her abortion, and because of that she cannot produce any medical document.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
Furthermore, the court stated that all the allegations made in the complaint seem without any basis, and only with the intention to harass the husband and In-laws, and the ingredients of the offenses alleged are not present in this case.
The court also stated that the facts and materials of the present case and the chargesheet do not make out a prima facie case of a cognizable offense against the husband and In-laws, and there is no material available for proceeding against the husband and In-laws toward the trial, and it is a fit case where the inherent power of court shall be exercised.
The court further stated that in a case, the chargesheet and the evidence placed in support thereof form the base to take or to refuse cognizance by the competent court, and the ultimate test is to check whether the allegations have any substance or not.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
In view of the above discussion, the court held that there is no substance in the allegations and no material exists to make out the complicity of the husband and In-laws in a cognizable offense, and the proceedings, in this case, shall be quashed.
Therefore, the criminal revision petition is allowed. The proceedings arising out of the case dated 03.11.2016 and the chargesheet dated 30.04.2017 under Sections 498A/ 323/ 34 of IPC are read with Section 3/ 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act are hereby quashed.
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Conclusion- 498A Quash Judgement 09.01.2023
In this article, the Calcutta High Court held that the allegations in the written complaint filed by the wife are general in nature, and all the allegations made in the complaint seem without any basis, and only with the intention to harass the husband and In-laws.
It is also held that the facts and materials of the present case and the chargesheet do not make out a prima facie case of a cognizable offense against the husband and In-laws, and there is no material available for proceeding against the husband and In-laws.
Therefore, the proceedings and the chargesheet against the Husband and In-laws are hereby quashed.
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