Sachin S/O. Prabhakar Dadhe And ... vs State Of Maharashtra Thr. P.S. ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 6513 Bom

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              IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                        NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.


            CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APL)  NO.  506   OF   2017


 APPLICANT :-                   1. Sachin S/o Prabhakar Dadhe, aged about 35
                                   years, occupation : Private Service, 

                                2. Prabhakar   S/o   Natthuji   Dadhe,   aged   about
                                   61 years, occupation : Retired, 

                                3. Indira @ Veena W/o Prabhakar Dadhe, aged
                                   about 55 years, occupation : Household, 
                                      applicant No.1 to 3 are R/o. Kharabi Road,
                                      Sheshnagar,   Behind   Swami   Vivekanand
                                      School,   Plot   No.118,   District   and   Tahsil
                                      Nagpur, (P.S.Nandanwan). 

                                4. Shilpa   W/o.   Madhukar   Wawarkar,   aged
                                   about 33 years, Occupation : household, R/o
                                   Pashan Chauk, Gol Market, A.R.D.E.Colony,
                                   Pune (P.S.Pashan). 

                                         ...VERSUS... 

 NON-APPLICANTS :-               1. State   of   Maharashtra,   Through   P.   S.
                                    Nandanwan, Nagpur. 

                                 2. Minakshi W/o. Sachin Dadhe, ageda bout 40
                                    years,   occupation   :   household,   R/o.   Police
                                    Line   Takli,   Kamgarnagar,   Plot   No.46,
                                    Nagpur. 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Mrs. I. P. Khisti, counsel for the applicant.
   Ms T.H.Khan, Additional Public Prosecutor for the non-applicant No.1
                Mr. A. R. Itankar, counsel for the respondent No.2.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                        CORAM : SMT. VASANTI    A    NAIK & 
                                                    M. G. GIRATKAR
                                                                   ,   JJ.

DATED : 24.08.2017

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O R A L J U D G M E N T (Per : Smt.Vasanti A Naik, J.)

The criminal application is admitted and heard finally at

the stage of admission with the consent of the learned counsel for the

parties.

2. By this criminal application, the applicants seek the

quashing and setting aside of the first information report bearing

No.386 of 2014 registered against the applicants for the offence

punishable under section 498-A read with section 34 of the Penal Code.

3. The marriage of the applicant No.1 and the non-applicant

No.2 was solemnized on 19/03/2012. The relationship between the

applicant No.1 and the non-applicant No.2 became strained and hence

they started residing separately within a couple of years from the

marriage. In view of the strained relationship, the non-applicant No.2

had filed a report against the applicants, i.e. her husband, her father-in-

law, her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law for the offence punishable

under section 498-A read with section 34 of the Penal Code. On the

basis of the report lodged by the non-applicant No.2, the first

information report was registered against the applicants. Proceedings

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were also filed by the non-applicant No.2 against the applicants under

the provisions of Protection of Women From Domestic Violance Act.

The applicant No.1 had filed proceedings before the Family Court,

Nagpur against the non-applicant No.2 for a decree of divorce on the

ground of cruelty. During the pendency of the proceedings before the

family court, the matter was amicably settled between the applicant

No.1 and the non-applicant No.2 and the applicant No.1 and the non-

applicant No.2 decided to convert the petition filed by the applicant

No.1 for a decree of divorce under section 13 (a-i) of the Hindu

Marriage Act into a petition for a decree of divorce by consent under

section 13-B of the Act. In the said proceedings the applicant No.1

agreed to pay a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- to the non-applicant No.2 towards

permanent alimony and the said amount was deposited by the applicant

No.1 in the family court by a demand draft for payment to the non-

applicant No.2 at the time of passing of the consent decree. The

applicants and the non-applicant No.2 therefore have jointly requested

that the first information report registered against the applicants for the

offence punishable under section 498-A read with section 34 of the

Penal Code is liable to be quashed and set aside.

4. The parties are personally present in the court today. We

have made specific query to the non-applicant No.2 whether the matter

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between the applicants and the non-applicant No.2 is amicably settled

on the terms mentioned in the petition filed by the parties under section

13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act and the non-applicant No.2 has

answered in the affirmative. The non-applicant No.2 has stated that

since she has compromised the matter with the applicants, the first

information report registered against the applicants may be quashed

and set aside.

5. In the circumstances of the case, it would be necessary to

quash and set aside the first information report registered against the

applicants for the offence punishable under section 498-A read with

section 34 of the Penal Code. The report was lodged by the non-

applicant No.2 against the applicants as their relationship between the

applicants and the non-applicant No.2 had soured at that particular

point of time. The parties had filed proceedings against each other.

The matter was however amicably settled between the applicants and

the non-applicant No.2 with the intervention of their counsel and their

relatives. The parties have decided to withdraw the cases filed against

each other. The petition filed by the applicant No.1 has been converted

into a petition for a decree of divorce by consent under section 13-B of

the Hindu Marriage Act. Since the non-applicant No.2 is not ready to

participate in the trial against the applicants for the offence punishable

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under section 498-A read with section 34 of the Penal Code, it is not

likely that the prosecution would result in the conviction of the

applicants. The settlement between the parties, as laid down by the

Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Gian Singh v. State of Punjab,

reported in (2012) 10 SCC 303, can itself be a consideration for

quashing and setting aside the proceedings by invoking the jurisdiction

under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In the

circumstances of the case, the first information report registered against

the applicants is liable to be quashed and set aside.

6. Hence, for the reasons aforesaid, the criminal application

is allowed. The first information report bearing No.386 of 2014,

registered against the applicants for the offence punishable under

section 498-A read with section 34 of the Penal Code and the

proceedings resulting there from, are hereby quashed and set aside.

Order accordingly.

                        JUDGE                                           JUDGE 


 KHUNTE