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Gujarat High Court
Vinayakrav Kashiram Salve vs State Of Gujarat on 5 April, 2024
Author: Ilesh J. Vora
Bench: Ilesh J. Vora
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/21488/2022 ORDER DATED: 05/04/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC. APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) NO. 21488 of 2022
VINAYAKRAV KASHIRAM SALVE ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT ANR.
Appearance:
MANAN V PATEL(8059) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
MS URMILA N DESAI(5609) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR JAY MEHTA APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA
Date : 05/04/2024
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.11210050221310 of 2022
registered with Rander Police Station, Dist.:
Surat, for the offences 498A, 323, 504, and 114 of
Indian Penal Code.
2. This Court has heard learned counsel Mr. Manan Patel,
Ms. Urmila J. Desai and Mr. Jay Mehta, learned
Additional Public Prosecutor for the respective parties.
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3. Brief facts revels from the record are that the
applicants are father-in-law and mother-in-law of the
second respondent – Reshma Salve. The marriage of
the second respondent was solemnized on 27.07.2021
with the accused Mukesh Salve. This is a second
marriage of the second respondent. Her first marriage
took place in the year 2010 and after getting divorce
from her earlier husband, she again married with the
accused no. 3. The applicants and the husband are
living at Mumbai and after the marriage, the second
respondent went to Mumbai. The husband having a
bakery shop, was used to leave the home in the early
morning and come at late night. As a result, the
matrimonial dispute arose between husband and wife
and on making complaint, the quarrel took place
between them. So far as mother-in-law is concerned, it
is alleged that, on the petty issue of household works,
she was harassed by her and threatened her that, she
will drive her out from the home. It is alleged that on
21.10.2022, due to dispute she was beaten up and
husband administered a threat that he will commit a
suicide. In such circumstances, fade with the issues,
the FIR being lodged against the applicants, inter-alia,
alleging that during the marriage span, she was
subjected to harassment by the applicants and the
husband, whereby, they have committed act of
cruelty, as defined under Section 498A of the Indian
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Penal Code.
4. The applicants, who are parents of the husband, have
preferred this application, inter-alia stating that, this is
a case of false implication as by making casual and
vague allegations, they have been roped into alleged
offence and therefore, prima-facie, if the allegations
believed to be true against them, no offence is
disclosed or make out.
5. Mr. Manan Patel, learned counsel appearing for the
applicants has submitted that, the applicants are aged
parents of the husband and they have nothing to do
with the matrimonial dispute with the husband and
wife and therefore, the allegations whatever alleged,
would not fall under the definition of ‘cruelty’. There is
no specific allegation that the applicants have caused
physical harm to the wife. In such circumstances, the
continuation of the criminal proceedings would
amount to misuse of process of law and court and
therefore, to prevent the injustice, the questioned FIR
may be quashed.
6. Ms. Urmila Desai, learned advocate appearing for the
second respondent submitted that, the High Court at
this stage, would not ordinarily entered into a disputed
question of fact and when the allegations made in the
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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
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 lawPage 4 of 10
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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.
(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 thePage 5 of 10
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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
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 criminalPage 6 of 10
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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
husband and his relatives. In para-17 of the judgment,
it is observed that:
“17. ….. this court has at numerous
instances expressed concern over thePage 7 of 10
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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. 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.
11. This Court has heard the learned counsels for the
respective parties and perused the allegations made
in the FIR. On plain reading of the FIR, it prima-facie
appears that, the allegations of harassment are vague
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and general and how and under which manner the
wife was harassed and tortured by the applicants
having not been specifically disclosed. The entire
dispute with regard to late coming by the husband at
home and on complaining about it by the wife, the
dispute arose between the parties. Thus, when there
is no allegation that, the applicants have caused
physical harm and the allegations of harassment,
being alleged casually, without any specific instances,
involving the applicants in abetting the act of the
husband, prima-facie, no offence is made out against
the applicants herein.
12. 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.
13. Resultantly, the application succeeds. Rule is made
absolute to aforesaid extend. FIR being CR
No.11210050221310 of 2022 registered with
Rander Police Station, Dist.: Surat, and other
consequential proceedings thereto against present
applicants are hereby quashed and set aside.
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14. 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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