SELVARAJ Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners herein are the accused before the trial Court. THEy have come forward with the instant criminal original petition to quash the proceedings pending on the file of the Judicial Magistrate, Sathiyamangalam in C.C.No.168 of 1999.

(2.) THIS criminal original petition has arisen in this way: One Venkateswari preferred a complaint before the respondent alleging that the first petitioner herein is her husband, petitioners 2 and 3 are her parents-in-law and the fourth petitioner is her sister-in-law and that subsequent to the marriage, the petitioners herein demanded dowry from her. The respondent received the complaint and registered a case in Crime No.13 of 1998 for the offences under Secs.498-A and 506(ii), I.P.C. and also under Sec.4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The matter is pending investigation. At this stage, the learned Judicial Magistrate took cognizance of the matter in C.C.No.168 of 1999 and issued summons. Aggrieved by the issuance of summons; the petitioners have come forward with the instant criminal original petition to quash the said proceedings on the ground that the essential ingredients of Sec.4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and Secs.498-A and 506(ii), I.P.C. are not made out. Further, their case is that petitioners 2 to 4 have been impleaded only to rope them in the crime only on the ground of being close relatives of the husband-first petitioner.

(3.) THEREFORE, at the time, when the earlier proceedings in Crl.O.P.No.22394 of 1999 was disposed by me, the decision rendered by the Apex Court and the decision rendered by may learned brother R.Balasubramanian, J. were not brought to my notice.