498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023- No Offense made out against the Father-in-law, Cousin Brother-in-law, Elder Brother-in-law & his Wife, FIR Quashed.
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| 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023 |
498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023- In this article, the Jharkhand High Court held that on the basis of the allegations made by the wife, no offense is made out against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife. The grievance of the wife is with respect to the partnership business of the gas agency, and the entire story of the prosecution revolves around the financial dispute over a partnership business which has been given a color of section 498A of IPC. Therefore, the criminal proceedings against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife are hereby quashed.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
According to the facts mentioned in the FIR filed by the wife, the marriage between the wife and her husband was solemnized in the year 2008, and the husband of the wife died on 27.01.2021, and the wife is living with her father-in-law.
It is stated that the father-in-law started a partnership business of Gas Agency, and after the demise of the husband, the father-in-law introduced the wife as Fifty Percent Partner in his partnership business of Gas Agency, and the partnership was executed on 24.03.2021, and it was submitted in the office of an Oil Corporation.
It is also stated that under the instigation of the brother-in-law and his wife, the father-in-law threatened the wife that he will not include the wife’s name in the Gas Agency business.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
It is further stated that the father-in-law had taken several hefty loans, and for the repayment of those loans he fraudulently borrowed money from the wife, and the wife was forced to issue cheques for the repayment of the loan amount, and the wife was also forced to execute a resolution deed against the notarized partnership deed dated 24.03.2021.
It is also stated that on 15.06.2021 when the wife was suffering from corona, the father-in-law entered the wife’s room and yelled at her while rummaging for documents that were related to partnership business, and he also committed criminal mischief by damaging the bed and other articles in the wife’s room.
Upon this, the wife filed an FIR in the police station under Sections 498A, 379, 120B, 34 of IPC against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife, and on 30.10.2021 the case was registered and is pending before the court of Magistrate, Bokaro.
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Arguments- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
The advocate appearing on behalf of the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife submitted that the husband of the wife is not alive and the marriage between the wife and her husband was solemnized 13 years ago, and the present case is filed by the wife against the In-laws only for the purpose of settling property dispute with them.
It is also submitted that the allegations made by the wife in the FIR do not disclose an offense under Section 498A or any other offense, and it was the wife who was continuously harassing the father-in-law, and the father-in-law was forced to take legal recourse against the harassment.
It is further submitted that the present case has been instituted in retaliation to the case filed by the father-in-law under Section 5 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 against the wife.
Arguments- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
It is also submitted that the husband of the wife during his lifetime had taken a huge loan by using the cheques of the father-in-law as collateral at a high rate of interest, and there were other property disputes for which the present case has been filed by the wife to coerce the In-laws to a settlement as per the choice of the wife.
Therefore, he prayed for quashing the entire case proceedings against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife.
On the other hand, the A.P.P. appearing on behalf of the state and the advocate appearing on behalf of the wife submitted that a counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the wife in the present case, and no interference in the impugned order is required at this stage of the case.
Arguments- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
It is also submitted that a prima facie case has been made out against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife.
Therefore, it is prayed that the instant petition filed by the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife shall be dismissed.
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Referred Judgements- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
- State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal
- Divisional Forest Officer & Another Vs. G.V. Sudhakar Rao & Others
- K. Subha Rao Vs. State of Telangana
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
It is stated by the court that from a plain reading of the FIR in the present case, it is clear from the tone and tenor that the grievance of the wife is with respect to the partnership business of the gas agency, and the entire story of the prosecution revolves around the financial dispute over a partnership business which has been given a color of section 498A of IPC.
It is also stated by the court that the object of enacting section 498A of IPC was to protect a woman from being subjected to cruelty by the family members and relatives of the husband, particularly in cases relating to unlawful demands.
It is further stated by the court that it is surprising that the elder brother-in-law and his wife who are living in Australia, and not even sharing the same domestic household as that of the wife have been roped into the case on account of some mobile calls made by them to the father-in-law.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
It is also stated by the court that the cousin brother-in-law is also a distant relative, and cannot be said to be living with the wife, and the present case has been filed against the old father-in-law by the wife to take shelter for protection under Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
In view of the above discussion, the court held that on the basis of the allegations made by the wife, no offense is made out against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife, and it will be a misuse of the process of the court to permit this criminal prosecution to proceed further.
Therefore, the FIR and the entire criminal proceedings against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife arising out of the case which is pending in the court of Magistrate, Bokaro is hereby quashed.
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Conclusion- 498A Quash Judgement 18.01.2023
In this article, the Jharkhand High Court held that the grievance of the wife is with respect to the partnership business of the gas agency, and the entire story of the prosecution revolves around the financial dispute over a partnership business.
It is also held that the present case has been filed against the old father-in-law by the wife to take shelter for protection under the Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, and on the basis of the allegations made by the wife, no offense is made out against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife.
Therefore, the FIR and the entire criminal proceeding against the father-in-law, cousin brother-in-law, elder brother-in-law, and his wife is hereby quashed.
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