SONIA ARORA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sonia Arora, petitioner, was married to Subhash Chander Kataria on December 6, 1996. The articles of dowry were give in the wedding, which included gold and silver ornaments. It is alleged that soon after the marriage, she was subjected to cruelty and her in-laws started making demands of dowry articles. On November 18,1997, the petitioner submitted an application to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Moga-respondent No. 2, for registration of the case against the accused. The case was registered on December 7, 1998, but Kashmir Kaur, Assistant Sub-Inspector, returned the petitioner's application on December 4, 1998 by making such observations that Subhash Chander Kataria contracted the marriage deceitfully merely in order to go to Canada and cheated her, that there is no fault of his father and brother Satish Kataria; and that only Subhash Chander Kataria is responsible for the action to be taken.

(2.) As the police did not take any action on the application dated November 18, 1997 of the petitioner for a fortnight, therefore, the petitioner filed criminal complaint on December 2, 1998, against the accused named in the First Information Report under Sections 406, 498-A, 420, 506, read with Section 34. Penal code. Now, when the F.I.R. has been registered on December 7, 1998, therefore, the proceedings in the complaint cannot be taken. In fact those are required to be stayed or clubbed with the F.I.R. The investigation in the aforesaid F.I.R. has come to stand still on account of the observation made by Assistant-Sub-Inspector Kashmir Kaur exonerating all the accused except Subhash Chander Kataria. With this background, the petitioner Sonia Arora filed this petition under Section 482, Code of Criminal Procedure, for quashing the arbitrary observations incorporated on December 4, 1998, by Kashmir Kaur, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Incharge Women Cell, in the F.I.R. Annexure P-I.

(3.) I have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner and carefully perused the records. For proper appreciation of the matter, in question, the observations made by Kashmir Kaur, Assistant Sub-Inspector-Incharge Women Cell, on December 4, 1998, incorporated in the F.I.R. Annexure P-l, are reproduced as under :