Madhya Pradesh High Court: While relying upon the decision of Supreme Court in Ramesh Rajagopal v. Devi Polymers (P) Ltd., (2016) 6 SCC 310, the Single Bench of S.K. Awasthi, J. found that the allegations made in FIR against applicants were absurd and thereby allowed their application seeking quashing of FIR under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
According to the complainant-wife, her in-laws had been harassing her for demand of an Indica Car, and later evicted her out of the house. Since, she did not have any means to maintain herself, she made an application for maintenance. Thereafter, the applicants were alleged to have visited her parents’ house and threatened her to withdraw the application. Upon a complaint case by her the police recorded the FIR for commission of offences punishable under Sections 323, 294, 506 and 498-A read with Section 34 of IPC. After completion of investigation, the police filed charge-sheet against the applicants before the Magistrate for the offences mentioned in the FIR. In order to seek quashing of FIR and subsequent criminal proceedings, the instant application was filed.
The Court observed that the allegations relating to commission of offence punishable under Section 498-A of IPC did not refer to any specific act of the applicants. The applicants had also brought on record documents with respect to an Indica Car and other four-wheeler vehicles that were owned by them. On consideration of these documents, the Court noted that the accusations regarding cruelty and harassment for demand of Indica Car were absurd and improbable. Furthermore, the offence under Section 294 of the IPC was not made out as the incident has taken place within the house of the complainant-wife. Therefore, the FIR and the consequent proceedings so far as they related to the offences punishable under Sections 498-A and 294 of IPC, were quashed. However, the Court clarified that the proceedings with regard to remaining offences shall continue. [Kunaldev Singh Rathor v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2016 SCC OnLine MP 6377, decided on December 02, 2016]
