—
Gujarat High Court
Kantaben Ranchhodbhai Parmar vs State Of Gujarat on 28 February, 2024
Author: Ilesh J. Vora
Bench: Ilesh J. Vora
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/4337/2022 ORDER DATED: 28/02/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) NO. 4337 of 2022
KANTABEN RANCHHODBHAI PARMAR ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT ANR.
Appearance:
JIGNESHKUMAR M NAYAK(8558) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
MR TANMAY B KARIA(6833) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MS CM SHAH APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA
Date : 28/02/2024
ORAL ORDER
1. By invoking inherent powers of this Court, the
applicants-original accused, who are facing the
charges for the offences of cruelty and demand of
dowry have preferred this application for quashing of
the FIR being CR No.11216024220104 of 2022
registered with Kalol City Police Station, Kalol,
Gandhinagar, for the offences 498A, 323, 504, 114
of Indian Penal Code and under Section 4 of the Dowry
Prohibition Act.
2. The applicants being neighbours have been
arraigned as accused nos. 8 and 9 for the alleged
offence of cruelty and demand of dowry. They are
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residing near the house of the accused husband and
due to their close association with the husband and
his relatives, the second respondent wife has
arraigned the applicants as accused, alleging against
them that they have abetted and aided the act of
cruelty allegedly committed by the husband and his
relatives.
3. The present application has been preferred by the
applicants stating therein that, they have been
wrongly implicated in the offence and ingredients of
the Section 498A are not attracted, as in any manner,
they are not relative of the husband.
4. This Court has heard learned counsel Mr. J.M. Nayak,
Mr. Tanmay Karia and Ms. C.M. Shah, learned
Additional Public Prosecutor for the respective parties.
5. Mr. Nayak, learned counsel has submitted that, this is
a classic example of misuse of process of law and
court, as the applicants are not relatives of the
husband and merely they being neighbors of the
husband, the offence alleged is being registered
against them and same deserves to be quashed and
set aside.
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6. On the other hand Mr. Tanmay Karia, reiterating the
contents of the affidavit appearing for the second
respondent has submitted that, the High Court at this
stage, would not ordinarily entered into a disputed
question of fact and therefore, when the allegations
made in the FIR disclosed the commission of offence,
the court may not quash it and allowed the
investigation to be continued in the matter.
7. The scope and power of the High Court to quash the
first information report is well settled. The power
under Section 482 of the Code has to be exercised
sparingly and cautiously to prevent the abuse of
process of Court and to secure the ends of justice. The
High Court should refrain from giving a prima-facie
decision, unless there are compelling circumstances to
do so. Taking the allegations, as they are, without
adding or subtracting anything, if no offence is made
out, only then, the High Court would be justified in
quashing the proceedings in the exercise of its power
under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.
8. The Apex Court in case of State of Haryana vs.
Bhajan Lal reported in (1992) Supp 1 SCC 335
has laid down the guidelines that must be adhered to
while exercising inherent powers under Sections 482
of the Code to quash the criminal proceedings. The
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relevant paragraph reads thus:
“102. In the backdrop of the interpretation of
the various relevant provisions of the Code
under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law
enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions
relating to the exercise of the extraordinary
power under Article 226 or the inherent powers
under Section 482 of the Code which we have
extracted and reproduced above, we give the
following categories of cases by way of
illustration wherein such power could be
exercised either to prevent abuse of the process
of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of
justice, though it may not be possible to lay
down any precise, clearly defined and
sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines
or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list
of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power
should be exercised:
(1) Where the allegations made in the first
information report or the complaint, even if they
are taken at their face value and accepted in
their entirety do not prima facie constitute any
offence or make out a case against the accused.
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(2) Where the allegations in the first information
report and other materials, if any,
accompanying the FIR do not disclose a
cognizable offence, justifying an investigation
by police officers under Section 156(1) of the
Code except under an order of a Magistrate
within the purview of Section 155(2) of the
Code.
(3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made
in the FIR or complaint and the evidence
collected in support of the same do not disclose
the commission of any offence and make out a
case against the accused.
(4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not
constitute a cognizable offence but constitute
only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation
is permitted by a police officer without an order
of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section
155(2) of the Code.
(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or
complaint are so absurd and inherently
improbable on the basis of which no prudent
person can ever reach a just conclusion that
there is sufficient ground for proceeding against
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the accused.
(6) Where there is an express legal bar
engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or
the Act concerned (under which a criminal
proceeding is instituted) to the institution and
continuance of the proceedings and/or where
there is a specific provision in the Code or the
Act concerned, providing efficacious redress for
the grievance of the aggrieved party.
(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly
attended with mala fides and/or where the
proceeding is maliciously instituted with an
ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the
accused and with a view to spite him due to
private and personal grudge.”
9. Since the FIR in question emanates from matrimonial
disputes. Recently, the Apex Court in case of
Kahkashan Kausar @ Sonam Ors. Vs. State of
Bihar Ors. reported in (2022) 6 SCC 599 held
and observed that, in recent times, matrimonial
litigation in the country has increased significantly
which led in an increased tendency to employ
provision such as 498A Indian Penal Code as
instruments to settled personal scores against the
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husband and his relatives. In para-17 of the judgment,
it is observed that:
“17. ….. this court has at numerous
instances expressed concern over the
misuse of section 498A IPC and the
increased tendency of implicating relatives
of the husband in matrimonial disputes,
without analyzing the long term
ramifications of a trial on the complainant
as well as the accused. It is further
manifest from the said judgments that
false implication by way of general
omnibus allegations made in the course of
matrimonial dispute, if left unchecked
would result in misuse of the process of
law. Therefore, this court by way of its
judgments has warned the courts from
proceeding against the relatives and in-
laws of the husband when no prima facie
case is made out against them.”.
10. In matrimonial case, the Apex Court in the case of
Preeti Gupta and another vs. State of Jharkhand
and another reported in (2010) 7 SCC 667
observed that, a serious relook of the entire provision
is warranted by the legislation. It is also a matter of
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common knowledge that, exaggerated version of the
incident are reflected in a large number of complaints.
The tendency of over implication is also reflected in
very large number of cases.
11. Having heard the learned counsel for the respective
parties, the issue falls for my consideration is whether
the case is made out for quashing the criminal
proceedings by invoking the inherent powers of this
Court.
12. Having considered the contentions raised by learned
counsel for respective parties and on perusal of the
allegations made in the FIR, this Court is of the
considered view that, the applicants have been
wrongly arraigned as accused in the alleged offence,
as they being neighbours of the husband and having
their close association with them, the second
respondent without any justifiable reason, arraigned
them in the alleged FIR. Admittedly, the applicants are
not in any manner related to the husband and other
co-accused and they are well-wisher of the accused. In
such circumstances, when the applicants are not
falling within the meaning of ‘relative of the husband
of a woman’, the ingredients of the offence cruelty are
not attracted at all. Thus, the allegations made against
the applicant accepted in its entirety as it is, do not
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make out any offence and prima-facie, it appears that,
the criminal proceedings qua the applicant having
been instituted with malafide and ulterior motive.
13. For the reasons recorded, this Court is convinced
that, the implication of the applicants in the
questioned FIR would amount to misuse of process of
law and it is well settled that, the power under Section
482 has to be exercised by the High Court, inter-alia
to prevent abuse of process of any court or otherwise
to secure ends of justice and it is boundant duty of the
constitutional Court to see that the criminal
proceedings should not be encouraged, when it is
found to be malafide or otherwise an abuse of process
of the court.
14. For the aforementioned reasons, the case is fully
covered by the categories (i) and (vii) as enumerated
by the Apex Court in the case of State of Haryana Vs.
Bhajanlal and therefore, this Court is convinced that
the continuation of the criminal proceedings would be
an abuse of process of the Court and law.
15. Resultantly, the application succeeds. FIR being CR
No.11216024220104 of 2022 registered with
Kalol City Police Station, Kalol, Gandhinagar,
and other consequential proceedings thereto against
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present applicants are hereby quashed and set aside.
16. The observations made hereinabove are prima-facie
in nature and confined to the adjudication of the
present application. The investigation agency as well
as the trial Court shall not get influence by the said
observation during the investigation as well as at the
course of trial. Direct service permitted.
(ILESH J. VORA,J)
P.S. JOSHI
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