Maheshpal vs State Of Rajasthan And Ors

The instant criminal miscellaneous petition under Section 482 CrPC has been filed by the petitioner Maheshpal for assailing the order dated 13.09.2012

passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sri Ganganagar in Criminal Case No.507/2011, whereby charges were framed against the petitioner for the

offences under Section 498-A and 406 IPC, so also the order dated 12.06.2015 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge No.1, Sri Ganganagar,

whereby the revision preferred by petitioner for assailing the order framing charges was rejected.

I have heard and considered the submissions advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel representing the complainant

and have gone through the impugned orders as well as the documents placed on record.

As per the FIR and the statement of the respondent No.2 complainant recorded by the Investigating Officer under Section 161 CrPC, it comes out

that the marriage of the complainant was solemnized with Charanjeet Sharma, resident of Padampur, way back in the year 1991. She has two children

from the wedlock. She alleged that she started living with her husband at Setiya Colony about 8 months after her marriage. Her mother- in-law Shanti

Devi used to live with them. All her Stridhan articles were taken away by her mother-in-law on the pretext that she would keep them secure and safe.

She alleged that thereafter, her brother-in-law Maheshpal (the petitioner herein) took her mother-in-law to Padampur and conspired with her to usurp

all the Stridhan articles of the complainant. She demanded her ornaments from her mother-in-law and the present petitioner, who insisted that they

should be given Rs.1,00,000/-, if she wanted the ornaments to be returned. She stated that when she expressed her inability to make arrangement of

an amount of Rs.1,00,000/-, she was beaten by her mother-in-law and her brother-in-law Maheshpal, the petitioner herein. She was harassed and

humiliated by both the accused, who bluntly refused to return her Stridhan articles and in this manner, they committed the offences alleged.

Charge-sheet was filed against the petitioner for the offences under Sections 498-A and 406 IPC. The trial court framed charges against the petitioner

for these offences by order dated 13.09.2012 and the revision preferred against the order framing charge was rejected by order dated 12.06.2015.

hence this miscellaneous petition.

After hearing and appreciating the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the parties, it is apparent that the petitioner herein is the brother-in-

law of the complainant. The highest allegation of the complainant regarding entrustment of her Stridhan articles was against her mother-in-law Shanti

Devi, who has passed away. There is nothing on record to satisfy the court that the mother-in-law, in turn, handed over these articles to the petitioner

herein. Since the complainant was residing with her husband and mother-in-law at Sri Ganganagar and as the petitioner herein admittedly used to

reside at Padampur, there was hardly any reason for their interaction with each other, more so when the relations between the parties were strained.

Though the complainant portrayed in the FIR that her husband was of weak mental constitution and that the petitioner took advantage of this

circumstance, but no evidence was collected by the Investigating Officer during investigation to support this assertion. Thus, it is inconceivable that the

petitioner would have been in a position to harass or humiliate the complainant or demand money from her in the presence of her husband. Manifestly,

thus, the allegations as levelled by the complainant in the FIR as against the petitioner are false and exaggerated. As a consequence, there is no

material to satisfy the court that the ingredients of the offences alleged exist against the petitioner from the highest allegations as set out in the charge-

sheet, so as to justify the order framing charge.

From over all appreciation of the material available on record, I am of the firm opinion that allowing prosecution of the petitioner in the present case

for the offences under Sections 498- A and 406 IPC is absolutely unjustified because the necessary ingredients required to constitute these offences

are not made out against him by the entire evidence placed on record.

Thus, the instant criminal miscellaneous petition deserves to be and is hereby allowed. The impugned orders dated 13.09.2012 passed by the Chief

Judicial Magistrate, Sri Ganganagar and dated 12.06.2015 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge No.1, Sri Ganganagar and all proceedings sought to

be taken thereunder against the petitioner herein are quashed.