AMIR KHAN Vs. GUL AMIR KHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through the medium of instant petition filed under Section 561-A CRPC, petitioners inter alia seek quashing of complaint titled "Gul Amir and another vs Amir Khan and others" under Section 12(1) of J&K Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2010, pending before the court of learned JMIC, Mendhar. Petitioners also seek quashing of order dated 12.03.2018 whereby the court below took cognizance in the matter against the petitioners herein on the following grounds:

(2.) In the petition, it has been stated that petitioner No.1 is studying Civil Engineering in a Polytechnic College near Mamoon Cantt. National Highway Pathankot, the Punjab State Board of Technical Education & Industrial Training, Chandigarh and is in his last semester. It is further stated that petitioner No.1 got married to respondent No.1 on 20.11.2017 with great pomp and show according to Muslim customs and rituals. At the time of marriage Rs.7.00 lacs was fixed as Haq Mehar, out of which, Rs.2.00 lacs was fixed as prompt dower and was paid immediately to the bride and Rs.5.00 lacs as deferred dower. After the marriage, petitioner No.1 and respondent No.1 lived together in the house of petitioner No.1 in Poonch but marriage was not consummated and petitioner No.1 returned to Punjab after three days for his exams to start on 24.11.2017 and during this time petitioners came to know about the pregnancy of respondent No.1, who was 6 months pregnant at the time of the marriage, the fact which was kept as a guarded secret and was concealed by the said wife of petitioner No.1 from everyone. The petitioners also came to know of the fact that respondent No.1 had an affair with one Amjad Khan S/o Iqbal Khan and heaven fell upon the petitioner No.1 when this fact was revealed upon him; that neither the petitioner had any affair with his wife prior to their marriage nor he had any physical relations with her and there was no pressure of marriage from any quarter upon both petitioner No.1 and respondent No.1 and the marriage took place with the consent of family members of both the families as well as the consent of both bride and the bridegroom; that petitioner No.1 refused to come back to his home town when he came to know about the cheating done by his wife with him and his family, and he wanted to divorce her which triggered unrest with respondent No.1 and after threatening the whole family she left the house of petitioner No.1 after living there for some time and strangely enough the complainant Mohd. Shafait S/o Mohd. Rafiq R/o Village Daki, Tehsil Mendhar District Poonch who is nobody but a distant relative of respondent No.1 filed a false and frivolous FIR No.03/2018 dated 06.01.2018 against many including the petitioners herein; that Mohd. Shafait who is the complainant is remotely connected to the family of the petitioner and respondent No.1 and with mala fide intentions got registered a false FIR against all the members of the Panchayat also just to dislodge them and to tarnish their reputation; that the petitioners challenged the said FIR before this Court in 561-A No.20/2018 and this Court vide order dated 19.01.2018 directed that petitioners shall be released on bail and they shall cooperate in investigation; that vide orderdated 16.01.2018 respondent No.1 was produced before the court below in connection with the aforementioned FIR and her statement under Section 164-A CrPC was recorded wherein she has herself admitted that she was pregnant prior to Nikah and she has concealed this fact from everyone and no one has forcibly taken her and the complaint made by her distant uncle Mohd. Shafait is baseless and false. Respondent No.1 has been living with her parents ever since; that in order to harass the petitioners, the respondent No.1 filed a complaint under Section 12(1) of J&K Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2010 titled Gul Iram & Anr. vs Amir Khan & Ors. before the Court of learned JMIC, Mendhar District Poonch and in the said complaint the court below has issued the order of cognizance dated 12.03.2018 which is patently illegal, arbitrary and in violation of the J&K Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2010.

(3.) Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case file.