Tejas Alias Sunil S/O. Manohar ... vs State Of Maharashtra Thr. Police ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 7017 Bom

                                          1                                      jg.apl 174.17.odt

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

                 Criminal Application (APL) No. 174 of 2017

(1) Tejas Alias Sunil S/o Manohar
      Sawake, aged about 36 years, 
      Occ. Service R/o. Village Malkapur
      Tq. and Distt. Akola, at present 
      R/o. MLA Hostel, Manora Building
      Mumbai. 

(2) Shobha Manohar Sawake,
      Aged about 62 years, 
      R/o. Village Malkapur
      Tq. and Distt. Akola. 

(3) Sau. Shilpa w/o Gopal Pande
      Aged about 27 years, 

(4) Sopan Vinayak Pande,
      Aged about 35 years, 
      No. 3 and 4 R/o. Post Bopori
      Tq. Murtizapur Distt. Akola. 

(5) Chaya Digambar Ganjare
      Aged about 27 years, Occ. Service 
      R/o Nage Layout, Lahariya Nagar
      Akola Tq. and Distt. Akola.                                           .... Applicants

      //  Versus //

State of Maharashtra through 
Police Station Officer, P.S. Khadan 
Akola Tq. And Distt. Akola.                                                .... Respondent

Shri J. B. Gandhi, Advocate for the applicants
Shri K. R. Lule, Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent
                                                     
                                    CORAM      : SMT. VASANTI  A  NAIK AND
                                                 M. G. GIRATKAR, JJ.

DATE : 12-9-2017.

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                                               2                                      jg.apl 174.17.odt

ORAL JUDGMENT (Per : SMT. VASANTI  A  NAIK, J.)


               Rule.     Rule   made   returnable   forthwith.     The   criminal

application is heard finally at the stage of admission with the consent of

the learned counsel for the parties.

By this criminal application, the applicants seek the quashing

and setting aside of the First Information Report registered against the

applicant nos. 1 to 4 for the offences punishable under Sections 375(4),

375, 417, 493, 495 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code. The

applicants have also sought the quashing of the criminal proceedings

pending before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Akola.

It is not in dispute that the applicant no. 1 Tejas had, during

the subsistence of his marriage with his wife, performed the marriage

with the applicant no. 5 Chaya though the said marriage cannot be a

legal and valid marriage in the eye of law. There were disputes between

the applicant no. 1 and the applicant no. 5 and it is alleged by the

applicant no. 5 in the report lodged by her in the Police Station on

8-3-2014 that she was not aware that the applicant no. 1 was already

married when she was in relationship with him. The report was lodged

by the applicant no. 5 against the applicant no. 1 for the offences

punishable under Sections 375(4) and 375 of the Penal Code and against

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the other applicants, i.e. the applicant nos. 2 to 4, for the offences

punishable under Sections 417, 493 and 495 of the Penal Code. It is the

case of the applicants that the wife of the applicant no. 1 was aware

about the relationship between the applicant no. 1 and the applicant no.

5 and she had executed deed of consent for the marriage of the applicant

no. 1 with the applicant no. 5 during the subsistence of her marriage with

him. Be that as it may, some proceedings were filed by the applicant

no. 1 and the applicant no. 5 in Family Court, Akola for a decree of

divorce by consent and it appears that the Family Court, Akola has

granted a decree of divorce by allowing the application filed by the

applicant no. 1 and the applicant no. 5. We however doubt whether this

marriage between the applicant no. 1 and the applicant no. 5 is legal and

valid and whether the same could have been dissolved by decree of

divorce. Now, the applicant nos. 1 to 5 are stated to have settled the

dispute between them and according to the applicant no. 5, she is not

interested in prosecuting the applicant nos. 1 to 4. It is stated that in the

peculiar circumstances of the case, this Court may quash and set aside

the FIR registered against the applicant nos. 1 to 4, as also the criminal

proceedings arising therefrom.

The applicants are personally present in the Court today. It is not

disputed by the applicant no. 1 that he had married (though it may not

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be legal) with the applicant no. 5. It is stated by him that the applicant

no. 5 was aware about the fact that he was married. The applicant no. 5

has however stated that she was not aware about the said position. It

is further stated by her that in any case, she does not want to proceed

against the applicant nos. 1 to 4 in the trial that is pending against them

before the Sessions Court at Akola. It is stated that in the peculiar

circumstances of the case, the First Information Report registered against

the applicant nos. 1 to 4 should be quashed and set aside.

When the matters are settled between the parties to the

dispute, by following the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in

the case of Gian Singh Vs. State of Punjab and another (2012) 10 SCC

303, normally we are inclined to quash and set aside the First

Information Report registered against the accused without imposing any

conditions while doing so. This is however a peculiar case where the

applicant no. 1 had sought to marry the applicant no. 5 though his

marriage with his wife was subsisting. It also prima facie appears from

the consent letter that is executed by the wife of the applicant no. 1 that

though the applicant no. 5 must be aware about the subsistence of the

marital relationship between the applicant no. 1 and his wife, she has

entered into a relationship with him and both of them have made a show

of marrying each other though the marriage between them is not legal.

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In the peculiar circumstances of the case, we are inclined to quash and

set aside the First Information Report registered against the applicant

nos. 1 to 4 with a view to prevent the abuse of process of Court, since the

prosecution may not result in the conviction of the applicant nos. 1 to 4

as the applicant no. 5 is not ready to prosecute them. It appears that

divorce decree is passed in the proceedings filed in the Family Court at

Akola and in the said proceedings, the applicant no. 5 has accepted a

huge amount of more than Rs. 6 Lakhs towards permanent alimony from

the applicant no. 1. Since we find that the applicant nos. 1 and 5 had

committed a wrong, though we are inclined to quash and set aside the

First Information Report with a view to secure the ends of justice, we

would impose a condition that both the applicant no. 1 and the applicant

no. 5 should pay a sum of Rs. 25,000/- each to the High Court Legal

Services Sub Committee at Nagpur for providing legal aid to the needy.

The learned counsel for the applicants states that the applicant no. 1 and

the applicant no. 5 would deposit the sum of Rs. 25,000/- each, within

a period of two weeks in the High Court Legal Services Sub Committee,

Nagpur. The statement made by the learned counsel for the applicants

on behalf of the applicant no. 1 and the applicant no. 5 is accepted.

In the circumstances of the case, the criminal application is

allowed. The First Information Report registered against the applicant

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nos. 1 to 4 as also the criminal prosecution pending against them on the

basis of the said First Information Report is hereby quashed and set aside

only on the condition that the applicant no. 1 and the applicant no. 5

should deposit the sum of Rs. 25,000/- each (Rs. 50,000/- in all) in the

High Court Legal Services Sub Committee, Nagpur within two weeks.

Order accordingly.

                  JUDGE                                          JUDGE



wasnik




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