On 3rd feb, the Supreme Court of India, in the case of Vishwas Bhandari v. State of Punjab comprising of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice S Ravindra Bhat quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of abducting a woman who later married the main accused.
Factual Background of the case
FIR was lodged by Rashmi Adhen for the offenced u/s 363 and 366-A of the IPC, 1860. The allegations were that her eldest daughter, 17 ½ years of age , went out of her house in the absence of the complainant and her husband. It was averred that Vikram Roop Rai and the present appellant had kidnapped her daughter by alluring her for the purpose of marriage.
Report u/s 173 of CrPC was filed against Vikram Roop Rai. Proceedings were also initiated for declaring the appellant as proclaimed Offender.
Prosecutrix Submissions
The Prosecutrix in its submissions submitted before the Court that the Vikam Roop Rai had taken her on the promise that he would marry her. He took her to his parents house and kept her in his house until she was 18 years of age and only then contacted her parents and got married.
Additional Session Judge
The Additional Session Judge in its findings stated that the “Prosecutrix in her examination has stated that the accused had abducted her on the pretext that he will solemnized marriage but how and where abducted her has not been explained by her. There is nothing in the statement of this witness that she tried to escape from the clutches of the accused or that she was forced to marry him. Even if it is presumed that the prosecutrix was minor but if she leaves her parents home in every case it cannot be held that is the accused who has possibly abducted the prosecutrix. Prosecutrix was known to the accused, went with him, married him with consent of both families, had two children with him, then, it cannot be said that she was taken out forcibly from the custody of her lawful guardian, as it is not proved that she is minor as non production of birth certificate issued by Registrat of Birth and Deaths, Jalandhar, give rise to the presumption that, the same could have shown her to be major and hence doubt creeps into the version of the prosecution, the benefit of which is to be given to the accused”.
The Additional Session Judge Acquitted the accused by recording the above stated findings.
High Court
The appellant invoked the jurisdiction of the High Court for quashing of the FIR.
The High Court in its findings stated before the Court that the Prosecutrix and the Complainnat before the Court shows that there is not allegation whatsoever against the appellant. In the absence of any allegation against the appellant, we find that the continuation of proceedings against him is nothing but an abuse of process of law.
Further, the High Court stated that “there is no evidence against the appellant, the proceedings initiated against him on the basis of FIR would be untenable. The High Court was thus, not justified in dismissing the petition against the appellant.
Supreme Court
The challenge in the present appeal is to an order passed by the learned Single Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana whereby the petition filed by the appellant u/s 482 of the CrPC was dismissed.
Further, the order passed by the High Court is set aside and the entire proceedings and charge sheet is quashed.
Case Details
Case Title: Vishwas Bhandari v. State of Punjab
Case No: 105 of 2021
Court: Punjab and Haryana High Court
Coram: Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice S Ravindra Bhat
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com
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