No Newly Married Wife Would Like To Ruin Her Matrimonial Home Unless She’s Harassed Or Subjected To Cruelty For Dowry: M.P. High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur while refusing to quash a case under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code has observed that no newly married wife would like to ruin her matrimonial home until and unless she is harassed or subjected to cruelty for the purpose of Dowry.

A Single Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal held, “It is pertinent to mention that F.I.R. has been lodged only within 08 months of marriage and no newly married wife would like to ruin her matrimonial home until and unless she is harassed or subjected to cruelty in connection with demand of dowry. Therefore, at this stage, it cannot be said that allegations made are false or baseless. The defence cannot be looked into by this court at the initial stage of criminal proceedings.”

The Bench further said that under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court cannot embark upon an appreciation of evidence while considering the petition filed under Section 482 Cr.PC. for quashing of F.I.R.

Advocate Sachin R. Gupta appeared for the applicants while Government Advocate Satyapal Chadar and Advocate Amit Dubey appeared for the respondents.

In this case, the applicants filed a plea against FIR registered against them for the commission of offence under Sections 498-A, 294, 323, and 506 of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and the matter was still under the investigation. The applicants including the husband were accused of harassing the respondent/wife saying that she brought misfortune to their house and torturing her for not bringing sufficient dowry. They asked her to bring Rs. 5 lakhs from her parents towards dowry.

The applicants also started beating her and after some time the husband took her to Gujarat where he harassed her. After narrating the entire incident to the parents on the phone, the woman left her matrimonial home and reached her parental home. The applicants threatened her family that if the demand of Rs. 5 lakhs would not be fulfilled, they will not fetch her to the matrimonial home. The husband thereafter abused and slapped her saying that if she attempted to come back to the matrimonial home without bringing Rs. 5 lakhs, he would eliminate her.

The High Court in view of the above facts of the case noted, “In this case, it has been contended by learned counsel for the applicants that applicants have been falsely implicated on the basis of complaint made by them against respondent No.2 as she is of quarrelsome nature. Their defence cannot be considered in this petition when investigation is yet to be completed by the police.”

The Court further noted that at such a preliminary stage, it cannot be concluded that the allegations made by the wife in the F.I.R. have a truth of ring or not or whether the ingredients of the offences alleged are made out or not.

“I am of the view that prayer for quashment of F.I.R.No.420/2022 dated 25.07.2022 registered at P.S.-Lalbag, Burhanpur against the applicants for commission of offence under Section 498-A, 294, 323, 506 of IPC and Section 3 & 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, is liable to be rejected”, said the Court.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the plea.

Cause Title- Shubham & Ors. v. The State of M.P. & Anr.

Click here to read/download the Order