Kamla Rani vs Saroj

G. S. Chahal, J.

Smt. Kamla Rani and others have come to this Court in Criminal Miscellaneous under Section 4,82, Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing of the complaint dated 6.5.88, Annexure P1, under Sections 498A, 406, 325, 324, 323 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code brought by Smt. Saroj, respondent and the summoning order dated 8.4.1988 Annexure P4 passed thereon by the learned Judicial Magistrate I Class, Sangrur.

The allegations made in the complaint Annexure P1 may be briefly stated :

The respondent was married to Ashok Kumar at Sangrur in July 1983, according to Sikh rites. Vijay Kumar is the brother of Ashok Kumar, while Smt. Kamla Rani is the mother; Smt. Sukkar alias Raj Rani and Smt. Veena alias Gillar are his sisters. At the time of marriage, sufficient dowry was given by her parents. All the dowry articles were entrusted to all the accusedpersons after the Anand Karaj ceremony. A few days after the marriage, all the accusedpersons started taunting her on the basis of insufficiency of dowry. A demand of Rs. 20,000/ was also made which, the complainant told them, was not possible for her parents to meet. On such a refusal, she was mercilessly beaten by Ashok Kumar and other accusedpersons used abusive. language. The complainant wrote letters to her parents about the illtreatment meted out to her by the accusedpersons. Panchayat was, convened on 24.9.86 and although her parents went to take her with them, the accused persons collected their own people and got a receipt that her parents were taking her of their own and happily for 15/20 days. About 20 days thereafter, the complainant was left back at her inlaws house, but the behaviour of the accused persons did not change. She was again taken to her parents'' house by her cousin Darshan Singh. On, 7.2.88, she along with her mother and other relations, visited the house of her inlaws. The accused persons were requested to treat her properly. On that occasion also, a some of Rs. 2000/ in cash and other dowry articles were given as gifts. On 15.3.88 when her mother visited her inlaws, she complained of ill treatment given to her. The accusedpersons having learnt of this disclosure on the part of the complainant, huried abuses on her mother and Pritam Singh., Thereafter they treated her with cruelty. She then wrote letters to her parents to take her back to Sangrur, as there was danger to her life at her inlaws'' house. She also addressed a letter to her sister complaining about crueltreatment and Sh. Darshan Singh visited her inlaws. The accused persons assured him that they would not maltreat her in future. However, on the same day, all the accused persons locked her in a room and gave her merciless beating, on the pretext, that she written a letter to her sister. She was then turned out of her inlaws'' house. On 24.4.89 her parents, along with her brother Pritam Singh, again, visited the house of the accused persons, requesting them to rehabilitate her, but they made a demand of Rs. 20,000/ as a precondition for her rehabilitation there.

The main grievance against the accusedpersons is of giving a beating on account of her writing a letter about illtreatment. This occurrence is alleged to have taken place at her matrimonial home at Ludhiana. The Court at Sangrur has no territorial jurisdiction to try these offences. It is difficult to appreciate the averments made in paragraph 14 of the complaint that the "offence of cruelty is a continuing offence".

The allegations of entrustment of dowry articles are of vague nature, so far as the present petitioners are concerned. On account of disruption of her marital life the complainant has tried to involve all the close relatives of her husband, including his mother and sisters, by alleging that all the dowry articles, mentioned in the list, were entrusted to all the accusedpersons. This allegation has been made with an oblique motive to rope in his close relatives, in order to wreak vengeance from the husband.

I hereby allow the criminal miscellaneous and quash the impugned complaint, the summoning order and the Subsequent proceedings against the present petitioners for all offences, except offence under Section 406 IPC. The complainant shall be at liberty to seek her legal remedy in a Court of competent jurisdiction for other offences complained of.

Misc allowed.