Orissa High Court
Sushila Nahak @ Naik & vs State Of Odisha & Another .... Opp. ... on 21 November, 2025
Author: Chittaranjan Dash
Bench: Chittaranjan Dash
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
CRLMP No. 1265 of 2025
Sushila Nahak @ Naik & .... Petitioners
Another
Mr. A. Jena, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha & Another .... Opp. Parties
Ms. S. Mohanty, Addl. P.P.
CORAM:
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE CHITTARANJAN DASH
ORDER
Order No. 21.11.2025
01. 1. Heard learned counsel for the Parties.
2. By means of this application, the Petitioners seek to quash
the FIR in connection with the Chhatrapur P.S. Case No.251 dated
30.03.2023 wherein the Petitioners have been implicated in the
offences under Sections 498-A/294/323/506/34/354-B of IPC and
Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (hereinafter as "D.P.
Act").
3. The background facts of the case, as borne out from the
record, are that Opposite Party No.2 was married to one Amar
Kumar Nahak, son of Bansidhar Nahak of Village-Gangapur, P.S.-
Chhatrapur, District-Ganjam on 28.02.2020 in accordance with
Hindu rites and rituals. Although no dowry was demanded at the
time of marriage, various household articles along with a sum of
Rupees Five Lakhs were given to the bride. The said amount was
deposited in a joint account standing in the names of the bride and
the bridegroom in Punjab National Bank, Potlampur, District-
Ganjam on 09.03.2020. Upon being informed of the said deposit,
the husband of Opposite Party No.2 had gone to the bank along
with her to ensure that the amount was kept in a fixed deposit. A
few days after the marriage, the brother-in-law of Opposite Party
No.2, namely Suraj Nahak @ Naik, the sister-in-law Purnima Sahu,
her husband Dukhishyam Sahu and the maternal aunts, Tamal
Parida and Indu Parida, allegedly abused Opposite Party No.2 in
filthy language. They also allegedly subjected her to mental and
physical torture, calling her a barren lady, humiliating her and even
making her completely naked. As Opposite Party No.2 could not
bear the torture inflicted upon her and as there was a threat to her
life, her husband brought her back from the matrimonial house and
left her at her parental home. Two months thereafter, the husband
of Opposite Party No.2 passed away in Chhattishgarh. When she
visited the house of her husband at Chhattishgarh, she allegedly
found her in-laws present there, who abused her and questioned her
very presence in the house. Finding no option, she returned to her
village and performed the obsequies of her husband. It is alleged
that the in-laws of Opposite Party No.2 disowned her as the wife of
their son, Amar Kumar Nahak and, following his death, did not
even allow her to identify herself as the wife of the deceased.
On the basis of the written report lodged by Opposite Party
No.2 before the I.I.C., Chhatrapur Police Station, Ganjam, the
police registered Chhatrapur P.S. Case No. 251 of 2023 and
commenced investigation. Upon completion of the investigation,
the Investigating Officer, having found the Petitioners responsible
for the offences under Sections 498-A/294/323/506/34/354-B of
the IPC, submitted the Final Form vide Chhatrapur C.S. No. 749
dated 30.11.2023.
On the strength of the charge-sheet, the learned S.D.J.M.,
Chhatrapur, Ganjam took cognizance of the aforesaid offences
against the Petitioners. The Petitioners, being close relatives of the
deceased husband of Opposite Party No.2, have approached this
Court seeking quashing of the FIR and, in consequence, the entire
criminal proceeding initiated thereunder.
4. Mr. Jena, learned counsel for the Petitioners, in course of
the hearing in the application submitted that none of the offences
alleged are attributable to the Petitioners, and that the cognizance
taken on the basis of the charge-sheet submitted in the case is
unsustainable in the eye of law, inasmuch as the essential
ingredients required to constitute the said offences are absent in the
FIR as well as the statements of the witnesses basing upon which
the charge-sheet has been filed. Learned counsel for the Petitioners
further submits that, in view of the fact that the very relationship
between the deceased-Amar Kumar Nahak, and Opposite Party
No.2 is in question, and so the initiation of the present case and the
cognizance taken by the learned court are not sustainable in the eye
of law. He also referred to the documents under Annexure-6,
wherein the Court of the First Judge, Senior Category,
Baikunthpur, Dist.-Korea, Chhattisgarh, in Succession Case No.03
of 2020 instituted on 14.01.2022 for obtaining various death
benefits, compensation, and gratuity of the deceased, held that
Opposite Party No. 2 failed to establish her claim. While dealing
with the succession matter initiated at the behest of Opposite Party
No.2, the said Court found that she could not prove her relationship
with the deceased, Amar Kumar Nahak. Consequently, it is
contended that the impugned order taking cognizance of the
offences implicating the Petitioners is illegal and deserves to be
quashed.
5. Ms. Mohanty, learned counsel for the State, on the other
hand, submits that the entire claim of the Petitioners for quashing
the criminal proceeding basing on the order passed by the learned
Court of First Judge Senior Category, Baikunthpur, Dist.-Korea,
Chhattisgarh, ipso facto cannot be accepted as the evidence to deny
the relationship between the husband and wife. Learned counsel
further submitted that although the copy of the judgment may be
referred to by the learned trial court while appreciating the
evidence regarding the relationship between the husband and wife,
but the order itself being the one passed under the Succession Act
cannot at the threshold be treated as document establishing that the
alleged offences are not made out.
6. As noted hereinbefore, the FIR has been registered for the
offences punishable under Sections 498-A/294/323/506/34/354-B
of the IPC and Section 4 of the D.P. Act. From the narration made
in the FIR, as well as from the statements of the witnesses annexed
to the case record and the materials collected during investigation,
it prima facie emerges that Opposite Party No.2 was married to the
deceased Amar Kumar Nahak on 28.02.2020. The factum of
marriage and the nature of the relationship between the spouses are
matters of evidence which are required to be adjudicated during the
course of trial. The contention of the Petitioners that the order of
cognizance, as well as the submission of charge-sheet, cannot be
sustained in law is, therefore, premature at this stage.
7. At this juncture, it is apposite to recall the well-settled
parameters governing the exercise of jurisdiction for quashing
criminal proceedings. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of
Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal, reported in 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, has
illustratively set out the categories where such interference may be
warranted, which are as follows:
"(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.
(2) Where the allegations in the first information report
and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not
disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation
by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code
except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview
of Section 155(2) of the Code.
(3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made in the
FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support
of the same do not disclose the commission of any
offence and make out a case against the accused.
(4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a
cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable
offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer
without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under
Section 155(2) of the Code.
(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint
are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of
which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion
that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the
accused.
(6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any
of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act
(under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the
institution and continuance of the proceedings and/or
where there is a specific provision in the Code or the
concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the
grievance of the aggrieved party.
(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."
8. In the light of the above principles, on a plain reading of the
FIR, coupled with the statements recorded under Section 161
Cr.P.C., the allegations levelled by Opposite Party No.2
substantially implicate the Petitioners in the alleged acts of cruelty
and other offences. Hence, the plea of the Petitioners for quashing
of the criminal proceeding cannot be acceded to solely on the
ground that Opposite Party No.2 was unsuccessful in establishing
her claim in a succession proceeding instituted for obtaining the
death benefits of the deceased. The outcome of such civil
proceedings, per se, cannot be treated as conclusive for the purpose
of stifling a criminal prosecution at its threshold.
9. In view of the foregoing discussion, this Court finds no
ground to invoke its inherent jurisdiction to quash the criminal
proceeding at this nascent stage. The allegations in the FIR, read in
conjunction with the statements under Section 161 Cr.P.C.,
disclose the commission of cognizable offences and warrant a full-
fledged trial. The Petitioners too have failed to bring their case
within any of the categories enumerated in Bhajan Lal (supra) so
as to merit quashing of the proceeding. Consequently, the prayer
for quashing the FIR and the subsequent criminal proceeding
stands rejected, and the CRLMP is accordingly disposed of.
(Chittaranjan Dash)
Judge
Sarbani
Designation: Junior Stenographer
Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK
Date: 25-Nov-2025 13:54:36
