ARVIND KUMAR MEHROTRA Vs. KIRAN MEHROTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present application u/S. 482, Cr. P.C. has been filed with a prayer for quashing the proceedings in Complaint Case No. 3494 of 1995 (Kiran Mehrotra v. Arvind Kumar Mehrotra) pending in the Court of VIth Addl. CMM, Kanpur Nagar. On presentation of the application, further proceedings were stayed for certain period and the stay order was extended from time to time and it is in operation till the date of this judgment.

(2.) Respondent No. 1 appeared and in addition to other points, she took up a plea of main-tainability of the application in view of the fact that the applicant had challenged this very proceeding before the Lucknow Bench of this High Court. Papers, however, have been filed to indicate that on 26-2-1997 the application before the Lucknow Bench in Criminal Misc. Case No. 342 of 1996 was allowed to be withdrawn with liberty to Arvind Kumar Mehrotra to file a fresh application before the competent Court.

(3.) Respondent No. 1 filed the complaint before the Magistrate for offences under Ss. 420, 405 and 496, IPC. It was stated that Arvind Kumar Mehrotra published an advertisement in a newspaper for a suitable bride and he declared himself to be a divorcee at the relevant time and as a bank officer. The respondent responded to this advertisement and the match was made and the parties were married at Kanpur. It was alleged that Arvind and his father, brother and mother deceitfully concealed that Arvind had been married on two previous occasions and his marriage with Smt. Priti was still subsisting. This suppression of fact was fraudulently made and thereby she and her parents were induced to agree to the performance of the marriage. It was further stated in the complaint that the complainant could know about the existence of marriage between Arvind Kumar and Smt. Priti Kumari from a ration card in which she was shown as the wife of Arvind during the periods 1980, 1981 and 1982. The ration card was allegedly issued at Patna (Bihar). According to the complainant, the accused Arvind had gone through the ceremony of marriage with her with a fraudulent intention knowing that he was not thereby lawfully married to her and as such an offence under S. 496 was made out. It was further alleged that the complainant was deprived of her valuable clothes and ornaments etc. that were given to her in marriage and was turned out of her matrimonial home by Arvind and his relations. After examining the complainant and her witnesses, the court had taken cognizance and issued summonses. Although the sections mentioned in the application under which the applicant has been summoned are Ss. 420, 405 and 496, in the complaint there was mention of S. 495, IPC as well.