Pawan Kumar and ors. vs State of Punjab

Jai Singh Sekhon, J.

The accused petitioners seek the quashment of the case registered against them vide FIR No. 30 dated 151989 at Police Station Nathana for offences under Sections 498, 406, 506 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and subsequent proceedings resulting therefrom including the order of framing the charge by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhatinda for offences under Section 406, 506 and 120B IPC only, interalia on the vagueness of the allegations. This petition was admitted only qua the culpability` of Deputy Ram and Raj Kumar brothers of the husband of Mst. Janko Devi, complainant. The allegations contained in the FIR (Annexure P1) are as under :

"That the marriage of the applicant was solemnised by performing Sanatnist ceremonies at Bhatinda dated 31388 at the house of Shri Goggiwan Ram, Rattan Lal Karyana Merchant Gali No. 2, Bai Basti Bathinda. The father of the applicant had given dowry in cash and kind worth Rs. 40,000/ in the presence of Master Mangat Ram Parshotam Lal s/o Shadi Lal. Goggiwan Ram s/o Dev Raj, Gopal Chand s/o Kali Ram all residents of Bathinda and Mohinder Pal s/o Inder Sain of Bathinda, Smt. Kaushalya Devi w/o Mangat Ram (mother of applicant), Durga Devi w/o Shivji Ram (father''s sister of applicant) of Jaitu, Raj Rani w/o Mohinder Pal of Bathinda and several others to applicant which were entrusted to aforesaid Pawan Kumar and others. List of dowry will be submitted at the time of investigation. The aforesaid Pawan Kumar and others were not satisfied with the dowry and on the first day of applicant''s visit to the house of Pawan Kumar they taunted to have brought insufficient dowry and Pawan Kumar had alleged the applicant to have left articles of dowry worth Rs. 3000/ with her parents and threatened her of deserting her and during the period of six months after marriage said Pawan Kumar and others have been disgracing and insulting brothers of applicant namely Krishan Kumar and Raj Kumar one by one on their visit to the applicant complaining to have given less dowry. On Karva festival when the applicant had gone back after visiting her parental house aforesaid Pawan Kumar and others and tortured her to have not brought dowry i.e. winter suiting of gents, wrist watches, VIP attache case etc. worth Rs. 3000/ and as applicant was pregnant, the blood Streamed out of her organ avid her condition became precarious and Shakuntla Devi sister of Pawan Kumar etc. raised hue and cry and apprehending attraction of neighbouring inhabitants they stopped torturing and look the applicant to Dr. Chopra of Bhucho who expressed his helplessness and advised them to carry the applicant to Bhatinda but aforesaid Pawan Kumar and others in a Matador threw the applicant at the door of her parental house of Jaitu and slipped back in the Matador. (3) That after about a week applicant brother Krishan Kumar had given Rs. 3000/ to Pawan Kumar and requested him not to torture and maltreat the applicant for dowry. It was holiday and after 10 days when the applicant got relief. Vijay Kumar (applicant''s mother''s sister) of Goniana, Shiv Chand (applicant''s father''s sister & husband) of Jaitu Hari Ram (maternal uncle of applicant) of Jaitu Mandi, collected alongwith the Sarvshri Sat Pal of Jaitu Mandi, Trilok Chand, President a person of firm M/s Jai Ram Babu Ram and others of Bhucho Mandi making Panchayat, approached said Pawan Kumar and others at their house and requested them to maintain the applicant as wife of Pawan Kumar and not to commit cruelty on her for greed of dowry but they (Pawan Kumar and others) had demanded dowry articles i.e. cloth of gents suiting, wrist watches, VIP attachi case etc. worth Rs. 3000/ and in the presence of above said Panchayat one set of utensils, winter gents suiting cloth, VIP attachi case. Gadda of double bed, two, wrist watches all worth Rs. 300/ by the above said relatives of the applicant had been given to Pawan Kumar and others in the presence of Panchayat and then they let the applicant enter their house but said Pawan Kumar and others had sufficiently declared before the Panchayat that if any bodily harm is caused to the applicant in their house. they will not be responsible and Pawan Kumar took a separate house so as to finish the applicant or abet her for suicide. (4) That after a month as the applicant was expected to give birth to a child came back to, Jaitu where a girl was born and went back to Pawan Kumar at Bhucho when the girl was aged about more than a month and after some days the girl had became sick and she had to be got treated at Bathinda in Private Clinic of Dr. Bajaj. Pawan Kumar had expressed his helplessness because of paucity of money and suggested to sell a gold ring given by parents of applicant to which applicant had agreed and after a lapse of some hours he came back and alleged the applicant to have given the ring to her sister and under such pretexts Started beating her. The applicant pulled her tuft of hairs of head and was out to kill with a knife and had the neighbours scaling over the walls of the house not entered and snatched the knife from Pawan Kumar he would have killed the applicant. The applicant''s approached Tarlok Chand president who advised her to go to Jaitu otherwise said Pawan Kumar and others will kill her at some opportune time and also informed on telephone applicants father and thus the applicant and her father, and brother met at Bathinda on 26489. That applicant''s father and her brothers Krishan Kumar and Ashok Kumar and. Vijay Kumar s/o Hans Raj of Goniana. Om Parkash s/o Ramji Dass of Goniana Mandi approached Pawan Kumar and others day after the incident of 26486 but they had specifically declared that they will kill the applicant if left there and also rushed at Vijay Kumar aforesaid to kill. The applicant''s father and others demanded back the cash and kind of dowry given to them on marriage and on different occasions but the said Pawan Kumar and others had denied to have any and misappropriated the same. (6) That aforesaid Pawan Kumar and others are guilty for committal of offence u/s 498A/406/506/120B IPC and provisions of prohibition of dowry Act. It is therefore, prayed that Police Station Kotwali Bathinda way kindly be directed to register case against aforesaid. Pawan Kumar and others u/s 498A/406/506/120 IPC and provisions of Prohibition of Dowry Act and for any other offence under law committed by them in the same transaction and to persecute them for the offences committed by them. Thanking you, yours faithfully,

Sd/ Janko Devi, J."

I have heard the learned counsel for the parties besides persuing the record. A bare glance through the FIR lodged by Mst. Janko Devi complainant leaves no doubt that there are no specific allegations against Raj Kumar and Deputy Ram petitioner''s brothers of the husband regarding entrustment of property forming part of the Istridhan or misappropriation thereof. Keeping in view that in the social set up of Joint Hindu family, the brothers of the husband in the presence of his parents play insignificant role in accepting dowry on the occasion of the marriage of the family members and in retaining the same at the joint house, there is no escape but to conclude that even if the allegations of the complainant contained in the report (P1) are taken to be true, no case for the above referred offences under Section 406 or 120BIPC is made out against Raj Kumar and Deputy Ram petitioners. Similarly there are no direct allegations against these two petitioners about having threatened the complainant with dire consequences, if she failed to fetch more dowry from her parents. On the other hand, there are specific allegations against Pawan Kumar husband of the petitioner about having threatened to kill her with dagger.

Consequently, under these circumstances the continuing of the criminal prosecution of Raj Kumar and Deputy Ram petitioners in this case would not only result nor amount to unnecessary harassment, to them but also abuse of the process of the criminal court. The impugned FIR and the resultant proceedings including the order of framing the charge are partially quashed qua the culpability of Raj Kumar and Deputy Ram petitioners by accepting this petition.

JUDGMENT accordingly.