RAJ SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenging the order dtd. 1/11/2018, taking cognizance of the offences, based on a police report filed, seeking prosecution under Ss. 498-A, 354-A, 506 read with Sec. 34 of the Indian Penal Code; all the accused have come up before this Court under Sec. 482, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for quashing the proceedings, by filing separate petitions as mentioned in the memo of parties.

(2.) The marriage between the victim and Sandeep Bhardwaj (A-3) was simonized on 6/5/2007. It was an arranged marriage. A son, currently around 12 years of age, was born to the victim and Sandeep Bhardwaj (A-3) from the marriage mentioned above.

(3.) The victim made a complaint addressed to the SHO of Women Police Station, BCS, Shimla. This case was entered in the said Police Station vide endorsement No.179/DCR/8/08/2018. The victim alleged cruelty and beatings on account of dowry. In the complaint, the victim alleged that the trouble started after around one year of her wedding that had taken place on 6/5/2007. It was an arranged marriage with Sandeep Bhardwaj (A-3), residing at Panchkula, Haryana. At the time of the wedding, the family of the boy lied to them and defrauded her. After the marriage, they started meeting mental and physical cruelty to her. She was turned out of her home on enormous occasions and would scuffle with her frequently. They also demanded dowry. At the time of her wedding, her father had given all those gifts which were justified. However, her in-laws were not mending their ways, and every day they were raising new demands. She stated that she had a son aged nine years, and now in connivance with her son, they wanted to remove her from the house. Geeta Bhardwaj (A-7), who is her sister-in-law (NANAD) along with her husband, Vinod Kashyap (A-4), another sister-in-law, Nishi Bhardwaj (A-6), her husband, Raj Singh (A-5), mother-in-law, Smt. Meena Bhardwaj (A-2) and her father-in-law, Shri Nanak Chand Bhardwaj (A-1), have connived with her husband Sandeep Kumar Bhardwaj (A-3). She alleged that her sister-in-law's husband (NANDOI), Vinod Kumar Kashyap (A-4), did wrong acts with her on enormous occasions. She complained about this to her husband, but he kept mum and did not take any action. Her husband even did not bring this fact to the notice of his parents. Geeta Bhardwaj (A- 7) leveled false allegations against her and her sister-in-law, Geeta Bhardwaj (A-7), in connivance with her mother-in-law, Meena Bhardwaj (A-2), gave beatings to her. She stated that all these people are involved. After that, the victim alleged that all these people had caused so much cruelty to her and her son that she was forced to take medicines. To earn her livelihood, she was doing a private job, but she had to leave that job, and now she was shifted to her matrimonial home. Due to this, the study of her child was stopped in between. The victim prayed that maintenance is given to her and her son. She clarified that she did not want to compromise with these people because even earlier, they had played fraud with her, and as such, she wanted those people to be prosecuted. She further alleged that her brother-in-law (NANDOI) and sister-in-law (NANAD) kept threatening her on enormous occasions by saying that they had a lot of money and she could not do anything to them. They also threatened her and her son's life. Despite having her own home, she was thrown away from there. After that, the complainant mentioned the names and phone numbers of those people.