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Gujarat High Court
Suyash Sushilkumar Shah vs State Of Gujarat on 22 February, 2024
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/3520/2024 ORDER DATED: 22/02/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) NO. 3520 of 2024
With
R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 8966 of 2023
SUYASH SUSHILKUMAR SHAH
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT ANR.
Appearance:
ANURAG R RATHOR(9315) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR HARDIK MEHTA, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR
Date : 22/02/2024
COMMON ORAL ORDER
1. Learned advocate Mr.V.K. Bhatia states that he has
instructions to appear on behalf of the original complainant and
thereby, seeks permission to file his Vakalatnama, which is
granted.
2. RULE. Learned advocates waive service of notice of rule on
behalf of the respective respondents.
3. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and
since it is jointly stated at the bar by learned advocates on both
the sides that the dispute between the parties has been resolved
amicably, this matter is taken up for final disposal forthwith.
4. By way of this application under Section 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as “Cr.P.C.”),
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the applicant/s have prayed to quash and set aside the complaint
being FIR being CR No.11192036230005 of 2023 registered
with Mahila Police Station, Ahmedabad Rural, for the offences
under Sections 498(A), 323, 506(2), 504 and 114 of the IPC and
Section 3 and 7 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Criminal Case
No.258 of 2024 and all the consequential proceedings arising
therefrom.
5. Going through the compilation of the petition, it appears
that complain is filed at the instance of respondent No.2. In the
petition being Criminal Misc. Application No.3520 of 2024, the
present applicant is husband and in the petition being Special
Criminal Application No.8966 of 2023, applicant Nos.1 and 2 are
the father-in-law and mother-in-law respectively and the
complainant are same in both the matters. In the said matter, ad-
interim relief has already been granted in favour of mother-in-
law and father-in-law vide order dated 25.07.2023. It appears
that marriage was solemnized between applicant-husband and
respondent No.2 on 29.01.2015 as per Hindu Rites and Rituals.
It is alleged that petitioner and his family members were
harassing the complainant. It appears that marriage of the
petitioner husband and respondent No.2 has been dissolved and
now they have chosen their own way. It appears that allegations
are general in nature and now dispute is settled between the
parties. In view of above, the present application be allowed.
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6. Learned advocates for the respective parties submitted
that during the pendency of proceedings, the parties have
settled the dispute amicably and pursuant to such mutual
settlement, the original complainant has also filed an Affidavit,
which is taken / placed on record. In the Affidavit, the original
complainant has categorically stated that the dispute with the
applicant/s has been resolved amicably and that he has no
objection, if the present proceedings are quashed and set aside
since there is no surviving grievance between them.
7. Having heard learned advocates for the respective parties
and considered the material available on record, in the complaint,
it is alleged that petitioner Husband along with his family
members have mentally and physically harassed the complainant.
It appears that petitioners are facing charge of Section 498A of
IPC. Therefore, as per the allegations made in the complaint,
ingredient of Section 498A is made out. In this regard, it would be
apposite to refer the decisions of the Apex Court in case of
Abhishek vs. State of Madhya Pradesh reported in
2023INSC779 / (Criminal Appeal No. 1457 of 2015) and in case
of Preeti Gupta and another vs. State of Jharkhand and
another [(2010) 7 SCC 667], it is observed that “this Court noted
that the tendency to implicate the husband and all his immediate
relations is also not uncommon in complaints filed under Section
498A IPC. It was observed that the Courts have to be extremely
careful and cautious in dealing with these complaints and must
take pragmatic realities into consideration while dealing with
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matrimonial cases, as allegations of harassment by husband’s close
relations, who were living in different cities and never visited or
rarely visited the place where the complainant resided, would add
an entirely different complexion and such allegations would have
to be scrutinised with great care and circumspection”
7.1. So far as offence under Sections 504 and 506(2) of IPC are
concerned, the learned Apex Court in the case of Mohammad
Wajid and Anr. v. State of U.P. and Ors., reported in 2023
LiveLaw (SC) 624: 2023 INSC 683, has held that:
“Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 504 – Mere abuse,
discourtesy, rudeness or insolence, may not amount
to an intentional insult within the meaning of
Section 504, IPC if it does not have the necessary
element of being likely to incite the person insulted
to commit a breach of the peace of an offence and
the other element of the accused intending to
provoke the person insulted to commit a breach of
the peace or knowing that the person insulted is
likely to commit a breach of the peace. Each case of
abusive language shall have to be decided in the
light of the facts and circumstances of that case and
there cannot be a general proposition that no one
commits an offence under Section 504, IPC if he
merely uses abusive language against the
complainant – In judging whether particular abusive
language is attracted by Section 504, IPC, the court
has to find out what, in the ordinary circumstances,
would be the effect of the abusive language used
and not what the complainant actually did as a
result of his peculiar idiosyncrasy or cool
temperament or sense of discipline. It is the ordinary
general nature of the abusive language that is the
test for considering whether the abusive language is
an intentional insult likely to provoke the person
insulted to commit a breach of the peace and notPage 4 of 8
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the particular conduct or temperament of the
complainant. (Para 25- 26)Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 504 – One of the
essential elements for constituting an offence under
Section 504 of the IPC is that there should have
been an act or conduct amounting to intentional
insult. Where that act is the use of the abusive
words, it is necessary to know what those words
were in order to decide whether the use of those
words amounted to intentional insult. In the
absence of these words, it is not possible to decide
whether the ingredient of intentional insult is
present. (Para 28)”
7.2. In the aforesaid backdrop, complaint is filed. It is necessary
to consider whether the power conferred by the High Court
under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is
warranted. It is true that the powers under Section 482 of the
Code are very wide and the very plenitude of the power requires
great caution in its exercise. The Court must be careful to see
that its decision in exercise of this power is based on sound
principles. The inherent power should not be exercised to stifle a
legitimate prosecution. The High Court being the highest court of
a State should normally refrain from giving a prima facie decisionPage 5 of 8
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in a case where the entire facts are incomplete and hazy, more so
when the evidence has not been collected and produced before
the Court and the issues involved, whether factual or legal, are of
magnitude and cannot be seen in their true perspective without
sufficient material. Of course, no hard-and-fast rule can be laid
down in regard to cases in which the High Court will exercise its
extraordinary jurisdiction of quashing the proceeding at any
stage as the Hon’ble Supreme Court has decided in the case of
Central Bureau of Investigation vs. Ravi Shankar Srivastava,
IAS Anr., reported in AIR 2006 SC 2872 and in case of State of
Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, reported in 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, the
Apex Court has set out the categories of cases in which the
inherent power under Section 482 CrPC can be exercised and
held in para 102 as under:
“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 Art. 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 :
(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint
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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 the accused.
(6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any
of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act
(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
concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the
grievance of the aggrieved party.
(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended
with mala fide 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.”
8. Having heard learned advocates on both the sides and
considering the facts and circumstances of the case as also the
principle laid down by the Apex Court in the cases of (i) Gian
Singh Vs. State of Punjab Anr., reported in (2012) 10 SCC 303,
(ii) Madan Mohan Abbot Vs. State of Punjab, reported in (2008)
4 SCC 582, (iii) Nikhil Merchant Vs. Central Bureau of
Investigation Anr., reported in 2009 (1) GLH 31, (iv) Manoj
Sharma Vs. State Ors., reported in 2009 (1) GLH 190 and (v)
Narinder Singh Ors. Vs. State of Punjab Anr. reported in
2014 (2) Crime 67 (SC), in the opinion of this Court, the further
continuation of criminal proceedings against the applicant/s in
relation to the impugned FIR would cause unnecessary
harassment to the applicant/s. Further, the continuance of trial
pursuant to the mutual settlement arrived at between the
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parties would be a futile exercise. Hence, to secure the ends of
justice, it would be appropriate to quash and set aside the
impugned FIR and all consequential proceedings initiated in
pursuance thereof under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C..
9. In the result, the application is allowed. The impugned
complaint being FIR being CR No.11192036230005 of 2023,
Criminal Case No.258 of 2024 as well as all consequential
proceedings initiated in pursuance thereof are hereby quashed
and set aside qua the applicants herein in both the maters. Rule is
made absolute. Direct service is permitted.
If the applicants are in jail, the jail authority concerned is
directed to release the applicants forthwith, if not required in
connection with any other case.
(HASMUKH D. SUTHAR,J)
KUMAR ALOK
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