PRAVEEN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE above petition is filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (for short 'Cr.P.C.') at the instance of the petitioners, who are accused in C.C.No.42/2013 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Vaikom which is a case instituted upon the police report for the offences punishable under Sections 498 A r/w Section 34 of I.P.C. with a prayer to quash all further proceedings as against petitioners in Annexure A1 FIR No.42/2013 of Vaikom Police Station and Annexure A2 final report pending before C.C.No.42/2013 of Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Vaikom as the matter is settled out of court.

(2.) THE prosecution allegation is that the first accused married the defacto complainant on 5/5/2010 at Chottanikara Temple in accordance with the customs and rites prevailing among Hindu religion and while the defacto complainant was residing along with the petitioners accused in her matrimonial home, she was subjected to cruelty stating that the dowry brought from her house was insufficient and they misappropriated 32 sovereigns of gold ornaments and Rs.1 lakh given by the parents of the defacto complainant and she was driven out from the matrimonial home on 9/9/2011 and thereby the accused has committed the offences punishable under Section 498A and r/w Section 34 of IPC. Now the case of the petitioners is that during the pendency of the above case the dispute both matrimonial as well as the criminal are settled through mediation as evident by Annexure-A3. Thus as per the settlement, according to the petitioners as well as the second respondent, the marriage is dissolved and the spouses are residing separately.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that during the pendency of the above case, the matter is settled amicably between the parties to the dispute which is the subject matter of the above case. Therefore, the continuation of the proceedings in the above case is abuse of process of law and proceedings.