SRINIVASACHAR Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition filed under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, the Petitioners 1 to 8 who have been arraigned as accused Nos. 1 to 8 in C.C. No. 4868/2004 on the file of VI Additional C.M.M., Bangalore have sought for quashing the proceedings initiated against them in the said case.

(2.) Respondent No. 2 herein Smt. Nagaveni is the complainant before the Women's' Police Station, Ulsoor Gate, Bangalore.

(3.) It is an undisputed fact that the second Respondent is the wife of the first Petitioner, while the second Petitioner is the mother of the first Petitioner, in other words the mother-in-law of the complainant. Petitioners 3 to 5 are the sisters and Petitioners 6 to 8 are the brothers-in-law of the first Petitioner. The second Respondent herein lodged the complaint before the first Respondent Police on 20.10.2003 alleging offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 506 r/w 34, IPC and Sections 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against her husband, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law and their respective husbands. On the basis of the said complaint, the Police registered case in Crime No. 68/2003 and took up investigation. After the investigation, the first Respondent Police filed charge-sheet against all these Petitioners for offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 506 r/w 34, I.P.C. and Sections 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act. It appears during the investigation, Petitioner Nos. 2 to 8 apprehending their arrest in connection with this case, obtained an order of anticipatory bail from the jurisdictional Court and they continued to remain on bail. Accused No. 1/first Petitioner was arrested during the investigation and subsequently enlarged on bail. After filing of the charge sheet the learned Magistrate took cognizance of the offences alleged in the charge-sheet and directed issue of summons to all the Petitioners. After coming to know of the filing of the charge-sheet and the order of the learned Magistrate directing issue of summons to them, the Petitioners presented this petition under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure. seeking for quashing of the criminal proceedings launched against them inter-alia on the grounds that the incident alleged in the complaint, prima-facie appears to have occurred in Hassan District and the complainant as well as her parents were also residents of Hassan District and the matrimonial house of the complainant is at Channarayapatna in Hassan District as such the Police and the Court at Bangalore have, no territorial jurisdiction to investigate the case and to try the case for any such offence as such the entire proceedings is vitiated and liable to be quashed. It is also contended that even the reading of the complaint as a whole do not make out a case against any of the Petitioners for the alleged offences and the complaint is a mala fide one, filed only with a view to harass the Petitioners to coerce them to pay money to the complainant. It is also contended that the allegation made in the charge sheet as well as the evidence collected during the investigation and produced along with the charge-sheet do not make out any case against Petitioner Nos. 3 to 8 who are the sisters and brothers-in-law of the husband of the complainant and that the complainant with a mala fide intention, has falsely implicated all the family members of her husband in the complaint and that Petitioner Nos. 3 to 8 had, at no point of time interfered in the matrimonial matters of the complainant and her husband as such on the basis of the vague allegations made against the Petitioner Nos. 3 to 8, no case is made out against them, therefore, the proceedings are liable to be quashed.