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Sachin Narayan Sarode And Anr vs The State Of Maharashtra And Anr
2025 Latest Caselaw 7931 Bom

Citation : 2025 Latest Caselaw 7931 Bom
Judgement Date : 25 November, 2025

Bombay High Court

Sachin Narayan Sarode And Anr vs The State Of Maharashtra And Anr on 25 November, 2025

Author: Manish Pitale
Bench: Manish Pitale
2025:BHC-AS:51336-DB



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                     IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                           CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                                WRIT PETITION NO. 1098 OF 2020

           1. Sachin Narayan Sarode,         }
           Age- 39 years, Occupation-Service }
           2. Rohini Sachin Sarode, Age- 37 }
           years Occupation- Housewife      }

           Both Residing at Room No. 9,     }
           Siddivinyak Blossom Durga Nagar, }
           Kamaltwada, Nasik 422 008        }                      ...        Petitioners
                 Versus
           1. The State of Maharashtra      }
           Through the Police Inspector,    }
           Wakad Police Station, Pune.      }
           (Respondent No. 1 to be served }
           through Public Prosecutor, High }
           Court of Bombay, Mumbai )        }
           2. Sushma Sachin Barhate,                  }
           Age - 38 Years, Residing at 302            }
           Ruby Building, Tanishq, Survey             }
           No. 18/07, Opp Ratnadeep                   }
           Colony Saijyoti Hospital, Dange            }
           Chowk, Thergaon, Pune                      }            ...        Respondents
                                       WITH
                          WRIT PETITION NO. 641 OF 2020
           1.Roshan Ravindra Barhate,       }
           Age-39 years, Occupation-Business}
           2. Gayatri Roshan Barhate,       }
           Age-34 Years, Occupation-Business}
           Both Residing at C 301, Shivram }
           Nagar Society, Govind Nagar,     }
           Nasik 422 009                    }                      ...        Petitioners

           Rajeshri Aher




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                                               18 WP.1098.2020 a.w. connected WPs.doc

      Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra                }
Through the Police Inspector,              }
Wakad Police Station, Pune.                }
(Respondent No. 1 to be served             }
through Public Prosecutor, High            }
Court of Bombay, Mumbai)                   }
2. Sushma Sachin Barhate,                  }
Age - 38 Years, Residing at 302            }
Ruby Building, Tanishq, Survey             }
No. 18/07, Opp Ratnadeep                   }
Colony Saijyoti Hospital, Dange            }
Chowk, Thergaon, Pune                      }            ...        Respondents

                                 WITH
                     WRIT PETITION NO. 5049 OF 2019

1. Madhuri Manohar Bhole,        }
Age-37 years, Occupation-Business}
Residing at C2 604, Panvelkar    }
Campus, Lakhamale Nagar, Beh- }
ind Bethel Church, Kohojgaon,    }
Ambernath West, 421505           }
2. Usha Manohar Bhole           }
Age-54 Years, Occupation-House- }
wife                            }
3. Manohar Sadashiv Bhole,       }
Age 63 years, Occupation-Retired }
4. Bhavesh Manohar Bhole,        }
Age-23 years, Occupation-Student }
All 2 to 4 Residing at ASG- 67, }
Matoshree, Ashwini Sector, CIDCO}
Colony, Nasik 422 009           }                       ...        Petitioners
       Versus

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                                                 18 WP.1098.2020 a.w. connected WPs.doc

1. The State of Maharashtra                  }
Through the Police Inspector,                }
Wakad Police Station, Pune.                  }
(Respondent No. 1 to be served               }
through Public Prosecutor, High              }
Court of Bombay, Mumbai)                     }
2. Sushma Sachin Barhate,          }
Age - 38 Years, Residing at 302    }
Ruby Building, Tanishq, Survey     }
No. 18/07, Opp Ratnadeep           }
Colony Saijyoti Hospital, Dange }
Chowk, Thergaon, Pune              }            ...      Respondents
                              ******
Mr. Manoj Gadkari, for the Petitioner in all Petitions.
Ms Sangita Phad, APP, for Respondent-State in all Petitions.
Ms Vrunda Surve, for Respondent No. 2 in all Petitions.
                              ******
                       CORAM : MANISH PITALE AND
                                   MANJUSHA DESHPANDE, JJ.

                                  DATE   : 25th NOVEMBER 2025

JUDGMENT (PER : MANJUSHA DESHPANDE, J.) :

. All the three writ petitions are heard together and are also decided by this common judgment, Since they arise out of one and the same FIR i.e FIR No. 0729 of 2019, alleging offences under Sections 498-A, 494, 323, 504, 506, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code ("IPC") against the petitioners, registered on 28 June 2019 at Wakad Police Station, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune.

2. The respondent no.2 complainant has filed FIR against her husband accused No.1 and 9 other relatives alleging to have committed aforementioned offences.

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3. The gist of the complaint filed by respondent no.2 is that the marriage between the accused no.1 Sachin Barhate and the respondent no.2 was solemnized on 22 nd April, 2007, after which she resided with accused no.1 and his mother (accused no.2) at Rajvaibhav Apartment, Opposite Anandwadi Police Chowki, Kalyan (East), District-Thane. It is further alleged that although her sister-in- law, Rohini Sarode (accused No. 5), and her husband, Sachin Sarode (accused No. 6), resided at Nashik, they frequently visited the complainant's matrimonial home. When she developed ulcers and was physically unfit to perform domestic chores, she was allegedly compelled by her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and the sister-in-law's husband to continue to do household work. When she refused, she was allegedly taunted and abused. When she complained about it to her husband, he ignored it. In fact, he taunted her and expressed that he no longer wished to live with her.

4. During her visit to Pune for her brother's house-warming ceremony, the accused no.1 refused to take her back with him, and avoided her request to accompany him. He also gave threats of performing second marriage after getting a divorce from her.

5. When the uncle of the husband who was mediator in settling their marriage, tried to mediate, she was informed that her husband had demanded Rs.1,90,000/- towards delivery expenses, treatment for her ulcers, and other costs. He further imposed a condition that she should sever all ties with her maternal relatives for seven years. When she refused to accept this condition, her husband allegedly began to threaten her and demanded a divorce. He also instituted divorce

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proceedings in 2009 before the Kalyan Court. In the meanwhile, she gave birth to a baby boy on 18 th July 2009, and has since been residing with her brother, maintaining the child on her own.

6. It is stated that the divorce proceedings instituted by her husband before the Kalyan Court were transferred to the Family Court at Pune, and were dismissed vide order dated 29 th August 2013. She later learnt that, despite dismissal of the divorce petition, her husband had contracted a second marriage with a lady named Madhuri Bhole.

7. When she went to her matrimonial house in Kalyan to verify the fact of her husband's second marriage, her brother-in-law, Roshan Barhate (Accused No. 3), her sister-in-law, Gayatri Barhate (Accused No. 4), and their daughter were residing in the house. When she inquired about her husband, they informed her that her husband, Sachin, had performed second marriage and demanded that she leave their house and return to her maternal home. She, however, refused to leave. After two days, the parents-in-law of Roshan Barhate (Accused No. 3) came to the house and attempted to drive her (Respondent No.

2) out. They also accused Roshan and Gayatri of ruining the life of Madhuri (Accused No. 7), and instigated Roshan and Gayatri to evict the complainant from their house. In response to these events, the complainant filed a complaint on 11th April 2014 at Kolshewadi Police Station, Kalyan.

8. It is further stated that the complainant had filed a domestic violence complaint seeking permission to reside in Flat No. 302, Rajvaibhav Apartment, Kolshewadi, Kalyan (East), which was granted by the Court. Despite this order, her husband Sachin, along with his

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second wife Madhuri Bhole and his mother, began residing in the flat and restrained her from entering it. She also filed an NC against her husband and his second wife on 8th March 2014. While she was away at Pune, the interior of the bathroom and kitchen of the house was damaged, and household items were removed and moved to a house owned by Madhuri at Ambernath, as reported to her by her neighbors. When she visited the flat to verify this information, Bhavesh Bhole (accused no.10), brother of Madhuri Bhole, verbally abused her and forcibly drove her out by threatening her. This incident was reported at Ambernath Police Station on 5th November 2016. Based on these allegations, the complainant has filed the FIR against Accused Nos. 1 to 10 on 28th June 2019 at Wakad Police station, Pune.

9. Except for Accused No. 1 (husband) and Accused No. 2 (mother-in-law), none of the petitioners have ever resided with Respondent No. 2. When Writ Petition No. 1098 of 2020 was heard on 19th January 2020, an order was passed directing it "to be heard with Writ Petition No. 5094 of 2019." When Writ Petition No. 5094 of 2019 was listed on 4th December 2019, while issuing notice, this Court directed that, although the investigation may continue, no charge sheet shall be filed. On 2nd February 2023, when Writ Petition No. 1098 of 2020 was heard, the Learned APP informed that, charge sheet had already been filed. Liberty was granted to place the charge sheet on record. Thereafter, the matter was listed before the Court on several occasions. On 24th March 2025, when both writ petitions were listed before this Court, it was observed that there were hardly any allegations against petitioners Rohini and Sachin Sarode. Except for the allegation against Sachin, there were virtually no allegations

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against the other petitioners. Even the other wife, Madhuri, could not be said to have committed an offence under Section 498A of the IPC. After making above observations, this Court directed that the trial Court shall not proceed against both the petitioners. Thereafter, the interim relief granted on earlier dates was continued from time to time.

10. We have heard all the respective counsel for the petitioner and the respondents. Since all the three writ petitions are clubbed together, the allegations made against each of the petitioners who are accused in the FIR will have to be considered independently. Therefore, it would be convenient to deal with the allegations and the role of the petitioners in each of the petitions one by one:

11. In Writ Petition No. 1098 of 2020, it is submitted by Mr. Manoj Gadkari, learned counsel for the petitioners, that Petitioner No. 1, Sachin Narayan Sarode (husband of the complainant's sister-in-law), and Petitioner No. 2, Rohini Sachin Sarode (sister-in-law of the complainant), are the original Accused Nos. 5 and 6 in the FIR. In the complaint itself, the Respondent No. 2 has categorically stated that she was residing with her husband and mother-in-law at Kalyan, while Accused Nos. 5 and 6, though residing in Nashik, frequently visited her matrimonial house. On this background the Respondent No. 2 has made bold and baseless allegations against the petitioners without specifying the date, place or time alleging that the petitioners have forced her to do domestic work while she was suffering from ulcers. This, according to learned advocate for the petitioners, does not attract ingredients of any of the offenses alleged against them.

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12. It is further submitted that since the petitioners were residing in Nashik, it is impossible that they could have ill-treated the complainant, and in any case, merely asking her to do household work while she was unwell does not amount to any offence. Similarly, Section 494 of the IPC cannot be made applicable to the petitioners. Even otherwise, the Respondent No. 2 has already filed a private complaint bearing No. R.C.C. 322 of 2014, pending before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Pune.

13. Mr. Manoj Gadkari, learned counsel for the petitioners, in Writ Petition No. 5049 of 2019, further submits that Petitioner No. 1, Madhuri Manohar Bhole, is the alleged second wife of Accused No. 1; Petitioner No. 2, Usha Manohar Bhole, is Accused No. 8 and the mother of Petitioner No. 1; Petitioner No. 3, Manohar Bhole, is Accused No. 9 and the father of Petitioner No. 1; Petitioner No. 4, Bhavesh Bhole, is Accused No. 10 and the brother of Petitioner No. 1 in the FIR. The learned counsel submits that the allegations against Petitioner No. 1 arise from her alleged second marriage to the Accused No. 1 without dissolution of his first marriage. When the complainant visited her matrimonial home to verify the fact of the second marriage and remained there for two days, the parents of her brother-in-law quarreled with him, alleging that they had ruined the life of Madhuri, and demanded that Accused Nos. 3 and 4 immediately removed the complainant from the house. These are the allegations leveled against Accused Nos. 8 and 9. As regards Accused No. 10, the allegation is that when the complainant visited the house of Petitioner No. 1 at

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Ambernath, Accused No. 10 was present and allegedly threatened, abused, and drove the complainant out of the house. The allegations under Section 498A relate only to Accused No. 1, and even those do not constitute a cognizable offence. No other offences as alleged are made out against the present petitioners. From the perusal of the FIR, it is apparent that the allegations against the petitioners are motivated by malice and ulterior intent. None of the offences alleged against the petitioners are sustainable as cognizable offences. If this Court does not interfere, it would result in a miscarriage of justice. Therefore, the FIR insofar as it concerns the petitioners deserves to be quashed and set aside.

14. On the background of these allegations it is submitted that the petitioners have been falsely implicated by the complainant to wreak vengeance on Accused No. 1. None of the petitioners are related to the husband of the complainant who is Accused No. 1 hence ingredients of Section 498A of IPC are not attracted in the case of petitioners. Section 498A is applicable only to the husband or relatives of the husband. Since the petitioners are not relatives of the husband, Section 498A is not applicable to them, even Section 494 of the IPC being an offense against marriage is not applicable to the petitioners. It is therefore submitted that even the rest of the offenses are not attracted in the case of the petitioners. The FIR itself is motivated by malice and ulterior motives.

15. As regards the Petitioners in W.P. No. 641 of 2020 are concerned, Mr. Manoj Gadkari, learned counsel for the petitioners

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submits that, Roshan Ravindra Barhate, Petitioner No. 1, is the husband of the complainant's sister-in-law and is Accused No. 3, whereas Petitioner No. 2, Gayatri Roshan Barhate, Accused No. 4. is the complainant's sister-in-law, The only allegation against the petitioners is that, though they are residing at Nashik, on their occasional visit to the complainant's matrimonial house, they have allegedly forced the complainant to perform household work when she was suffering from an ulcer and also abused her on her refusal to do the work.

16. It is submitted that the complainant has provided no specific details regarding the alleged incidents and has made vague and omnibus allegations, apparently to pressurize and harass Accused Nos. 1 and 2 by implicating their relatives. The petitioners have been falsely implicated, which is evident from the fact that they do not reside at Kalyan but at Nashik. Even the complainant, in her complaint, has stated that their usual place of residence is Nashik, which makes the allegations highly improbable. Thus, none of the offences can be said to be attracted against the petitioners.

17. It is therefore prayed by the learned advocate appearing for the petitioners that all the petitioners have been falsely implicated by the complainant merely to get even with accused no 1 and are used to exert pressure on the accused no. 1. None of the ingredients of Sections 498A, 494, 323, 504, 506, and 34 of the IPC are made out by the complainant in the FIR filed by her. The FIR is vague and devoid of any details. The registration of the FIR against the petitioners violates the principle that criminal prosecution should not be used to harass or

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seek revenge. No ingredients of Section 498-A or any other cognizable offence are disclosed in the complaint. Therefore, the FIR registered against the petitioners deserves to be quashed and set aside.

18. The learned APP, while opposing the prayers of the petitioners in all the writ petitions, has contended that specific roles have been attributed to each petitioner in the complaint filed by Respondent No.

2. While it is an admitted position of law that an FIR is not an encyclopedia and only serves as an intimation of the commission of an offence. The complaint narrates incidents involving each accused and their participation in the alleged offences attributing specific roles to each of the accused, and therefore there is no substance in the contention of the petitioner that the FIR is bereft of details. It is the contention of the learned APP that the investigation has already been completed and the chargesheet has been filed; hence, this Court may not interfere in the present proceedings filed against the petitioners.

19. Ms. Vrunda Surve, learned counsel representing Respondent No. 2, submits that a common affidavit has been filed in all the writ petitions. It is submitted that the writ petitions are replete with suppression of material facts and, therefore, they deserve to be dismissed in limine. She contends that the petitioners herein are perpetrators and abettors of continuing offences, including bigamy, cruelty, criminal intimidation, and economic abuse, and thus are not entitled to equitable relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

20. It is further contended that the complainant was subjected to continuous physical and mental cruelty by the petitioners. Despite the

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subsistence of her marriage, Accused No. 1 contracted a second marriage with Accused No. 7, which constitutes an offence under Section 494 of the IPC. The second wife, being the elder sister of Accused No. 4, was fully aware of the existence of the first marriage of Accused No. 1; yet, Accused No. 7 proceeded to marry Accused No. 1, which in itself amounts to an offence.

21. She has also made various averments regarding the proceedings pending between Accused No. 1 and herself, including her private complaint concerning the second marriage, the domestic violence complaint, and the divorce proceedings. She further submits that She has filed Miscellaneous Application No. 79 of 2025 under Section 156(3) of the CR.P.C. before the Kalyan Court, seeking directions for the registration of an FIR against Accused No. 1 and his business partner. Various allegations have been made against all the accused to contend that the present writ petitions deserve to be dismissed, as the accused are allegedly misusing the judicial process as a counterblast to the lawful proceedings initiated by the complainant under Sections 498A, 494, 323, 504, 506, and 34 of IPC, and also proceedings initiated Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. for maintenance.

22. We have heard the parties at length and also perused the documents on record. Bare perusal of the FIR makes it apparent that in the matrimonial dispute between the Accused No.1 Sachin Barhate and the complainant Sushma Sachin Barhate, all the relatives of Accused No.1 have been embroiled by the complainant. As regards petitioners, in Writ Petition No.1098 of 2020, they are brother-in-law and sister of Accused No. 1. The allegations made against them are that they have abused and forced the complainant when she failed to

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discharge her domestic obligations This per se would not attract Section 498A of the IPC which reads as under :

"498-A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. - Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.--For the purpose of this section, "cruelty"

means--

(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand."

23. The essential ingredients of Section 498A of IPC are that the husband or the relatives of the husband commit an act of 'cruelty' against a woman, for which they are liable for imprisonment of up to three years. The term 'cruelty' as contained in Section 498A of IPC has been explained to mean such conduct which is likely to drive the complainant to commit suicide, or harassment with a view to meet any unlawful demand for property or valuable security. The conduct of the petitioners does not fall within the scope of 'cruelty' as defined under Section 498A of the IPC.

24. Similarly, Section 494 of the IPC, provides for punishment of seven years with fine for whoever having a husband or wife marries again during his/her lifetime during subsistence of such marriage. It is

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explicitly clear from reading the section itself that Section 494 of IPC applies to the husband and/or wife who commits an offence by marrying again during the subsistence of the valid marriage. Hence, Section 494 of IPC will not be attracted in case of any of the petitioners in the present group of writ petitions.

25. The other offences alleged are under Section 323 of the IPC, which deals with voluntarily causing hurt. There is no specific allegation against any of the petitioners that they voluntarily caused hurt to the complainant; no incident has been narrated by the complainant in support of her allegations under Section 323 IPC. We are further surprised to note that the complainant has invoked Sections 504 and 506 of IPC. Section 504 of IPC, which deals with intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, is a non-cognizable and bailable offence. Similarly, Section 506 of IPC, which deals with criminal intimidation, is also non-cognizable and bailable. Neither of these offences is made out against the petitioners from the complainant's complaint.

The aforementioned observations are squarely applicable to Writ Petition No. 614 of 2020, involving Roshan Ravindra Barhate and Gayatri Roshan Barhate, who are Accused No. 3 and 4. Though they may fall within the definition of 'relative of the husband,' the allegations against them do not amount to 'cruelty' as defined in the explanation to Section 498A of IPC. As regards the remaining Sections 494, 323, 504, 506, and 34 of the IPC, we are of the view that, since the allegations against them are bereft of any details, none of the offences alleged against them are made out.

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26. The petitioners in Writ Petition No. 5049 of 2019 are Accused Nos. 7 to 10, who include the alleged second wife of Accused No. 1, her parents, and her brother. The complaint alleges that the parents of Accused No. 7 insisted that the other accused to drive the complainant out of the house, while Accused No. 10 did not allow her to enter the house and allegedly abused her. However, these allegations do not specify the date, place, or time of the incidents. As far as Accused No. 7 is concerned, the only allegation against her is that, with full knowledge that Accused No. 1 is married to the complainant, she has married him. Apart from this, there are no other allegations against her. Although it is the contention of Respondent No. 2 that Section 494 of IPC would be applicable to Accused No. 7, the fact remains that complainant has already filed a private complaint against Accused No.

1. As observed hereinabove, Section 494 of IPC is not applicable to a third person, since it is an offence committed by a person who marries during subsistence of earlier marriage.

27. All the allegations in the FIR are general and vague, lacking specific dates, times, or incidents that reflect criminal conduct. It appears that after marriage, on 22nd April 2007, the relationship between the couple was initially amicable, but relations soured over time. The complainant subsequently filed various proceedings against Accused No. 1 and other relatives, seemingly to retaliate against Accused No. 1. From the averments in the FIR itself, it is evident that the complainant was living with her husband and mother-in-law after marriage, and none of the other relatives resided with them regularly. The husband filed divorce proceedings in 2009 before the Court at Kalyan, and since then, they have been living separately. Therefore,

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the only persons against whom the complainant could be said to have a real grievance are Accused No. 1 (husband) and, to some extent, Accused No. 2 (mother-in-law). Implicating all other accused amounts to an abuse of the penal provisions and appears to be a counterblast against the family members for the conduct of Accused No. 1, who married a second time without obtaining a decree of divorce from the first marriage.

28. In a recent decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Dara Laxmi Narayani and Ors. Vs. State of Telangana and Ors. 1, The Hon'ble Supreme Court had an occasion to deal with the issue of quashing an FIR under Section 498A of IPC against the relatives of the accused. In this judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, by referring to the celebrated judgment of State of Haryana V. Bhajanlal2, held that the case of the petitioners therein would fall within Category 7 of the illustrative guidelines laid down in the said judgment.

29. However, in the present case, we find that the cases of all the petitioners stand squarely covered by Categories (1) and (7) of the illustrative guidelines laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the judgment of Bhajanlal (supra). While interpreting various relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure under Chapter XIV, and in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of extraordinary powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., the Supreme Court provided these illustrative guidelines. Categories (1) and (7) of the illustrations, as given in paragraph 102 of the judgment, are reproduced herein below, which read as follows:

1 2025 (3) SCC 735 2 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335 Rajeshri Aher

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"(1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.

(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge."

30. While delivering the judgment in case of Dara Laxmi Narayani (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court has once again reiterated that there is a rising tendency in women to abuse the process of law, by registering FIR against innocent family members of the husband without specific allegations indicating their active involvement, which requires to be nipped in the bud. It is held that generalized and sweeping allegations unsupported by concrete evidence cannot form the basis for criminal prosecution. The Courts must therefore exercise caution in such cases to prevent misuse of legal provisions and legal process to avoid unnecessary harassment of innocent family members. Reference is also made to the judgment in case of Preeti Gupta Vs. State of Jharkhand3, wherein it is held by the Hon'ble Supreme court that the court has to be extremely careful and must take pragmatic realities into consideration while dealing with matrimonial cases. The allegations of harassment by the husband and close relatives, who have been living in different cities, who never visit or merely visit where the complainant resides have an entirely different complexion. Such allegations are required to be scrutinized with great care and circumspection.

3 2010 7 SCC 667 Rajeshri Aher

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31. In our opinion, the observations made in the case of Preeti Gupta (supra) are squarely applicable to the present case. Though we are aware that the jurisdiction under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. has to be exercised sparingly and only in deserving cases, in our view, this is a fit case for the exercise of such discretion, as the allegations made against the petitioners in all three writ petitions are vague and omnibus, bereft of any specific date, time, or place. The alleged offences are not made out, as the ingredients of the respective offences are not attracted to the incidents narrated in the FIR.

Therefore, in our view, if the proceedings against the petitioners are allowed to continue, the petitioners would be unnecessarily made to face prosecution, which is nothing short of an abuse of process of law and travesty of justice. Hence, in our view this is a fit case to quash the FIR bearing C.R. No. 729 of 2019, filed with Wakad Police Station, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, under Sections 498A, 494, 323, 504, 506 r/w Section 34 of the IPC against the Petitioners. Accordingly, the Writ Petitions are allowed and the said FIR and consequential proceedings are quashed as against the petitioners. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed off. Digitally signed by RAJESHRI RAJESHRI PRAKASH PRAKASH AHER AHER Date:

2025.11.26 20:20:24 +0530 (MANJUSHA DESHPANDE, J.) (MANISH PITALE, J.)

Rajeshri Aher

 
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