RAJKUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, who are the accused 1 and 2 in Crime No.1341/2015, pending on the file of the first respondent police, has filed this petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C praying to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against them.

(2.) The FIR in Crime No.1341/2015 has been registered by the first respondent against the petitioners for the offences under Sections 323, 343, 370 and 374 IPC and Sections 16 and 18 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, based on the complaint lodged by the second respondent/complainant. It proceeds to state that the second respondent/complainant received an information from one Valarmathi, Labour Officer, Tiruvallur District as if there is a child labour crime occurred in the flat of the petitioners. Based on the same, she came along with the police officials to that flat and rescued a girl namely, M.S. Joys aged about 27 years and the same has been informed to the Revenue Divisional Officer, Ambattur, who, in turn, conducted enquiry with the victim girl and the witnesses at Taluk Office, Madhavaram and recorded the same. According to the statement of the victim girl, she has been working in the house of the petitioners for the past 15 years and when she was left in that house, her father was allegedly paid Rs. 200/- by the first petitioner. She further stated that the second petitioner used to harass her. She also stated that she was not allowed to leave the house and she was beaten up frequently during the course of work resulting in bodily injuries. Denying the allegations raised in the FIR, the petitioners are before this Court for quashing the same.

(3.) According to the petitioners/A1 and A2, the victim girl is a native of Tanjore District and her father Thanasami, who is a drunkard, used to send her for domestic work in various houses for collecting money, during the course of which, she was sent to the house of the second petitioner, who, at that time, was unmarried and a dispute arose between the father of the girl and the mother of the second petitioner, which was settled before the District Legal Service Authority, Tanjore District, thereby, the girl continued to stay with the mother of the second petitioner, on her own will. After the marriage of the second petitioner with the first petitioner, the victim girl came along with them to Chennai. It is further stated by the petitioners that there was no harassment or ill-treatment caused by them as alleged in the complaint and they are treating her as a member of their family.