BHUPENDRA Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant misc. petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking quashing of the FIR No. 444/2011 registered at the Police Station Suratgarh, District Sriganganagar for the offences under Sections 498A and 406, IPC.

(2.) Succinctly stated the facts of the case are that the petitioner was married to respondent No.2 Smt. Dhanvanti Devi on 20-10-2007. The respondent No.2 filed a complaint in the Court of the Addl. Chief Judl. Magistrate Suratgarh on 22-10-2011 with the allegation that after her marriage with the petitioner, the petitioner as well as his other family members started taunting her with the comments of inappropriate dowry and also made sarcastic comments regarding the functions of marriage, which had been organized by her father. The complainant was allegedly taunted that no motorcycle had been given at the time of the marriage. It was alleged that her relatives intervened and pacified the accused and with great difficulty the complainant could be sent with her husband. The complainant has further alleged that after she reached her matrimonial home, the accused persons again started torturing and harassing her regarding the demand of dowry. She further alleged that her husband the petitioner used to bring his friends Tarun and Lovely Arora to the house and after drinking liquor, she was beaten and the demand of a motorcycle was repeated. She gave birth to a male child and at that time also, her father gave sufficient articles and items to the accused to the best of his ability but the accused were not satisfied and when she reached the matrimonial home after the delivery period, she was again harassed on the count of demand of dowry and particularly with a demand of a motorcycle and one lac rupees. She was told that if she did not bring the motorcycle and rupees one lac from her father, she would not be kept in the house. She allegedly called her father regarding this demand of the accused and her father talked to her father-in-law but he did not pay heed to the requests and threatened the complainant that she should leave the house or she would be done to death by hiring henchmen. The complainant has further alleged that on 7-7-2010 Lovely Arora and Tarun called her and told her that they had snapped certain photographs of her while she was sleeping in a compromising position with her husband and if she wanted the photographs, then she would have to come to their house. When the complainant went there, Tarun and Lovely forcibly took her in a Tata Sumo and threatened her with a knife. Thereafter, both of them committed rape with her. Tarun then took her to Bharatpur. A case was filed in this regard at Ganganagar and she was recovered from Bharatpur and thereafter, her in-laws refused to keep her with them. Thereafter, she started residing at her father's house. She further alleged in the complaint that later on, she came to know that Tarun and Lovely conspired with her in-laws and had taken her away under the false pretext of the indecent photographs on the advice of her father-in-law. She further alleged that when she took out the call details of phone numbers of her in-laws home, it was revealed that before she was taken away by Tarun and Lovely, both of them had continuously talked with her father-in-law, husband and the brother-in-law.

(3.) After she was recovered, the in-laws pressurised her into giving a statement against the accused Tarun in pursuance to a conspiracy and therefore, she was forced to give the statement against the accused in the aforesaid FIR. Under the pressure of her inlaws she did not disclose the fact regarding the connivance of her father-in-law etc. in facilitating her abduction and rape by the accused Tarun and Lovely. The complainant further alleged that her father called a Panchayat at Suratgarh and her in-laws were also called in the Panchayat but her in laws did not accept the proposals of the Panchayat and persisted with their demand of Rs. 1 lac and insisted that the complainant would be taken back only if the demand was met. On this, the complainant allegedly refused to go back with the accused and requested that her dowry articles be returned back but her husband and brother-in-law started abusing her and assaulted her in the Panchayat, whereafter the Panchayat Members interfered and the accused went away without returning her dowry articles.