Ganesh Kumar vs State Of Jharkhand

Anil Kumar Choudhary

Heard the parties.

This criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of BNSS with the prayer for quashing and setting aside the entire criminal proceeding as well as the order dated 13.05.2024 passed in connection with Ramgarh (Mahila) P.S. case no. 12 of 2023 whereby and where under, learned CJM, Ramgarh has taken cognizance of the offences punishable under Section 323, 498A, 504 of IPC and Section 3/4 of the D.P.Act.

The allegation against the petitioner is that the petitioner being the husband of the informant subjected the informant to cruelty by willful conduct which was of such a nature as was likely to cause grave injury or danger to the life, limb and health- both mental and physical health of the informant. There is further allegation against the petitioner or harassing the informant by abusing her and her father with a view to coerce the informant and her father to meet the unlawful demand of money to be given by the father of the informant. There is also allegation against the petitioner of causing hurt to the informant and intentionally insulting her with an intent to provoke her to cause breach of peace or to commit any other offence. There is further allegation against the petitioner that the petitioner has taken dowry and demanding more dowry. The police after investigation of the case found the allegation against the petitioner to be true and submitted chargesheet against the petitioner for having committed the said offences, the cognizance of which has been taken by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramgarh.

It is next submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the allegation against the petitioner is general and omnibus in nature and the allegations are false. It is then submitted that the First Information Report has been lodged after three and half years of the initial occurrence which allegedly took place in January 2020 and the petitioner has filed a suit for divorce and after that only, this FIR has been instituted, hence it is submitted that the prayer as made in this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition be allowed.

Learned Addl. PP and learned counsel for the Opp. Party no. 2 on the other hand vehemently oppose the prayer of the petitioner and submits that there is direct and specific allegation against the petitioner of harassing and treating the informant with cruelty and the same has been found to be true during the investigation of the case. Basing upon charge sheet, the statement of the witnesses recorded by police during the investigation of the case and the other materials collected by the police during investigation of the case the learned Magistrate has taken cognizance of the offences. It is next submitted that the only ground of the petitioner to quash the entire criminal proceeding is that the allegation against the petitioner is false, which is the defence of the petitioner, which he can take during the trial of the case but if the allegations made against the petitioner in the FIR, the Case Diary and the chargesheet are considered to be true in their entirety, then all the offences, in respect of which, learned Magistrate has taken cognizance, is in fact been made out, hence, it is submitted that this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition being without any merit, be dismissed.

Having heard the submissions made at the Bar and after going through materials available in the record, it is pertinent to mention here that there is direct and specific allegation against the petitioner of committing each of the offences in respect of which, the police has submitted chargesheet upon finding the said allegations to be true and the learned Magistrate has also taken cognizance for the same. The undisputed fact remains that the petitioner is the husband of the informant and though the informant was blessed with a male child, the petitioner has not considered it fit to visit and see his own son, apparently because of non-fulfilment of the demand of a flat worth Rs. 42,00,000/- in Pune by the father of the informant and there are other allegations of perpetration of cruelty upon the informant on various occasions, as mentioned in the FIR as well as in the Case Diary.

Under the circumstances, this Court is of the considered view that this is not a fit case where the entire criminal proceeding is to be quashed at this nascent stage in exercise of its power under Section 528 of BNSS, 2023.

Accordingly this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition being without any merit is dismissed.