SIBA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard.

(2.) Petitioners pray to quash the criminal proceedings registered as G. R. Case No. 1263 of 2004 of the Court of S. D. J. M., Berhampur on the ground that the prosecutrix Jamuna Jani voluntarily went and cohabited with the petitioner No. 6 Gouranga Behera and they have got married. Petitioners further state that because of such circumstance learned Sessions Judge allowed accused Gouranga to go on bail as per order dated 6-1-2005 in Bail Application No. 857 of 2004. Petitioners thus state that no useful purpose will be served by continuing the criminal proceeding when the prosecutrix is staving with the accused persons. Accordingly they have applied to this Court to invoke the inherent power and to quash the aforesaid criminal proceeding.

(3.) Annexure-1 is the certified copy of the F.I.R. It appears from that document that prosecutrix has been described to be a girl aged 15 years by the date of occurrence. It is alleged in the F.I.R. that she was kidnapped by accused Gouranga and the latter raped her and detained her for two months and thereafter only took her to his house. The father of accused Gouranga refused to accept her as the daughter-in-law in the absence of dowry. Father of the prosecutrix, under the given circumstance, left her again in the custody of the accused with dowry articles, but the accused persons did not accept her.