KARAM SINGH VIJAY Vs. GURMEJ KAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) KARAM Singh Vijay and Smt. Sunanda alias Dolly alias Madhu, petitioner and 2 have brought this criminal miscellaneous under Section 482, Cr.P.C. for quashing plaint, Smt. Gurmej Kaur v. Karam Singh Vijay & Anr., for offences under Sections 494/109, IPC, pending in the Court of the Illaqa Magistrate, Jalandhar.

(2.) ACCORDING to the averments made in the complaint Annexure PI, filed by the respondent, she was married to petitioner-1, about 30/35 years ago, according to Sikh rites, i.e. by Anand Karaj ceremony in the presence of Shri Guru Granth Sahib, by taking four Lawans around the holy Granth and they had been living together, as husband and wife. About 5/6 years ago, accused respondent-2 started working in the factory run by complainant and accused- 1. Petitioner 1 developed illicit relations with petitioner 2 and out of this relationship, a male child was born. Petitioner-1 had been keeping petitioner-2 away from the respondent either in rented accommodation or hotels and had been treating her as his wife. Out of this incite relationship, another child was born on 27-8-90 at Chawla Nursing Home, Jalandhar. Both the accused became desperate and wanted to lend a colour of legality to this relationship and therefore petitioner-2, in connivance with the active support of petitioner-1, trespassed into the house, belonging to respondent, No. 1 56, Jawahar Nagar, Jalandhar and locked a portion of it on the day the respondent complainant was away to her parents" house, on the said demise of her father. Thereafter both the petitioners started misconducting themselves towards the respondent and when she asked petitioner-2 to vacate the house both of them started threatening her. When the matter was reported to the police. petitioner-1 gave in writing, agreeing to send away petitioner-2 on or before 28-4-91. Both the petitioners, however continued to have illicit relationship between themselves. The respondent had been insisting that petitioner-2 must leave the house as the deadline of 28-4-91 had passed. On 9-6-91, the respondent, convened a Panchayat of the respectables where both the petitioners openly confessed of having entered in to the marriage on 14-1-90 in Gurdwara Jaswant Nagar, Jalandhar, according to, the Sikh rites. On further inquiry Bhai Bachan Singh, and Navdeep Singh admitted having witnessed the marriage of the two petitioners. They had, thus, committed an offence, punishable under Section 494, read with section 09, IPC.

(3.) THE essentials of Anand Karaj ceremonies, were considered by M.M. Punchhi, J. (as his Lordship then was) in Resham Singh v. Kartar Singh and Ora., 1983(2) RCR(Crl.) 497 (P&H) : 1984 PLR 78 and the learned Judge observed as under -: