498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023- Jharkhand High Court -General and Vague Allegations against the Mother-in-law, Case quashed.
 |
| 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023 |
498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023- In this article, the Jharkhand High Court held that the Magistrate has passed a Summoning Order against the husband and the mother-in-law without applying the judicial mind, and as far as the mother-in-law is concerned, the proceedings against her are on the basis of vague and general allegations. There are general and omnibus allegations made in the complaint against the mother-in-law, and she has been falsely implicated in the case. Therefore, the criminal proceeding against the Mother-in-law is hereby quashed.
Case Brief- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
According to the facts of this case, after the marriage between the wife and her husband, the wife started to reside in her matrimonial home with her husband and the mother-in-law.
It is stated that the husband is working in a transport department for the government of Jharkhand, and the mother-in-law is a government school teacher.
It is also stated that after one month of staying in the matrimonial home with the husband, and the mother-in-law, the wife filed a complaint petition for the offense under sections 498A, 325, 377, 406, 420, 34 of IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against the husband and the mother-in-law.
Case Brief- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
A case was registered against the husband and the mother-in-law, and the magistrate took cognizance of the offense by passing a summoning order dated 20.07.2022 against the husband, and mother-in-law, and the case is pending before the Magistrate, Ranchi.
Upon this, the husband and the mother-in-law have filed an instant petition for quashing the entire criminal proceedings, including the summoning order dated 20.07.2022 taking cognizance against them.
_________________________________________________
Arguments- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
The advocate appearing on behalf of the husband and mother-in-law submitted that the general and omnibus allegations have been leveled against the husband and the mother-in-law.
It is also submitted that there is no allegation against the mother-in-law with respect to the offense under Sections 325 and 377 of IPC under which cognizance has been taken against the mother-in-law.
It is further submitted that the infirmity in the summoning order dated 20.07.2022 will be apparent from the fact that for more than one month the wife stayed in her matrimonial home with the mother-in-law, and only on a bad assertion made in the complaint petition filed by the wife, the mother-in-law has been roped in the present case.
Arguments- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
It is also submitted that the wife has stated in her complaint petition that she did not sustain any injury which required treatment, and therefore, no medical paper has been enclosed by her.
Therefore, he prayed for quashing the entire criminal proceedings, including the summoning order dated 20.07.2022 taking cognizance against the husband and the mother-in-law.
On the other hand, the advocate appearing on behalf of the wife submitted that there are materials available in the complaint petition filed by the wife against the mother-in-law, as well as in the statements and other inquiry witnesses.
Therefore, it is prayed that the instant petition filed by the husband and the mother-in-law shall be dismissed.
_________________________________________________
Referred Judgements- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
- Kahkashan Kausar Vs. State of Bihar
- K. Subha Rao Vs. State of Telangana
- Pepsi Foods Ltd. Vs. Special Judicial Magistrate
Court’s Opinion- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
It is stated by the court that the court found force in the arguments on behalf of the husband and the mother-in-law regarding the false implication of the mother-in-law in the present case.
It is also stated by the court that it appears that the Magistrate has ordered the issuance of the process against the husband and the mother-in-law without applying the judicial mind, and as far as the mother-in-law is concerned, she has proceeded on the basis of vague and general allegations.
The court, by referring to one of the above-mentioned cases, stated that the courts should be careful in the proceedings against the distant relatives of the husband in the crimes pertaining to dowry deaths and matrimonial disputes.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
It was also stated that the relatives and family members of the husband should not be roped in such matrimonial disputes on the basis of omnibus allegations unless there are some specific instances made out of their involvement in the crime.
It was further stated by the court that in several instances the courts have expressed concerns over the misuse of Section 498A of IPC, and in the present time, there is an increased tendency of implicating the relatives and family members of the husband in matrimonial disputes without even analyzing the long-term consequences of a trial on the person who filed the complaint as well as on the accused person.
The court also stated that the false implications by the way of general and omnibus allegations made during the matrimonial disputes, if such allegations are left unchecked, would result in misuse of the process of the law.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
Therefore, the court by way of its judgement has warned the courts to be careful in the proceedings against the relatives, family members, and In-laws of the husband when no there is no prima facie case being made out against them.
Furthermore, the court stated that the summoning of an accused in a criminal case is a serious matter, and it is not that the person who filed the complaint has to bring only two witnesses to support the allegations that he made in the complaint, to set the criminal law in motion.
The summoning order passed by the magistrate must reflect that the magistrate has applied his judicial mind to the facts of the case, and the law applicable there, and the magistrate had to examine the nature of the allegations made against the accused in the complaint, and both oral and documentary pieces of evidence in support of such allegations, and then it would be sufficient for the person who filed the complaint to succeed in bringing the charge home to the accused person.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
The court also stated that the magistrate is not a silent spectator of the case at the time of recording the evidence before a summoning order against the accused is passed, the also magistrate has to carefully examine the evidence brought on the record.
The magistrate may even put questions to the person who filed the complaint, and his witnesses to know the truth about the allegations, and then the magistrate can examine if any prima facie offense has been committed by the accused person or not.
In view of the above discussion, the court held that after considering the facts and circumstances of the present case, the court is of opinion that the summoning order dated 20.07.2022 passed by the Magistrate is set aside and the entire criminal proceedings against the mother-in-law are hereby quashed.
_________________________________________________
Conclusion- 498A Summons Quash Judgement 06.02.2023
In this article, the Jharkhand High Court held that the Magistrate ordered the issuance of the process against the husband and the mother-in-law without applying the judicial mind, and as far as the mother-in-law is concerned, she has proceeded on the basis of vague and general allegations.
It is also held that there are general and omnibus allegations made in the complaint against the mother-in-law, and she has been falsely implicated in the case.
Therefore, the summoning order dated 20.07.2022 passed by the Magistrate, and the entire criminal proceedings against the mother-in-law, are hereby quashed.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment