VIJAY HIRALAL CHAUHAN Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has invoked provisions of Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Code") to pray for quashing of the complaint registered as C.R.No.I-30 of 2007 in Dhari Police Station on 10.07.2007. According to the complaint registered in the form of F.I.R., it is alleged by respondent No.3 herein that his daughter aged 16 was kidnapped by the petitioner with a view to persuade her to marry him and the offences punishable under Sections 363 and 366 of the Indian Penal Code were alleged to have been committed by the petitioner.

(2.) It is stated in the application that the daughter of the complainant was aged 17 years and had fallen in love with the petitioner and, therefore, on 17.06.2007, she had left her parents' house to come to Ahmedabad at the petitioner's residence. It is further stated that the complainant had managed to get the address of the petitioner and started harassing them by issuing threats and demanding his daughter back. It is further stated that the daughter of the complainant did not want to return to her parents' house and, in such circumstances, no offence punishable under Sections 363 or 366 of the Indian Penal Code was made out.

(3.) Admittedly, the daughter of the complainant has not reached marriageable age and she has, by now, returned to her parental home or alleged to have been forcibly taken back, even as the investigation in the offence registered as aforesaid was under way. In these facts, it would be premature to believe or declare that no offence is made out in the F.I.R. registered against the petitioner. Learned counsel for the original complainant, Mr.Alvi, relied upon recent judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in T. Vengama Naidu V/s. T. Dora Swamy Naidu and others [III (2007) SLT 271] in support of the submissions that the F.I.R. has to be taken at its face value and merits of the allegations cannot be entered into at the stage when investigation was in progress.