HC junks cruelty case against lawyer’s parents, 2 sisters, citing ‘omnibus, general and vague’ statements

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Bombay high court's Aurangabad bench has quashed and set aside a case of cruelty and other charges levelled against the parents and two sisters of a lawyer by his estranged wife, holding that they cannot be prosecuted based on "omnibus, general and vague" statements.The lawyer, who hails from Beed and practises in the Supreme Court, did not approach the HC for quashing the FIR registered by the Rahuri police in Ahilyanagar district against himself. His father (77), mother (70) and married sisters (47 and 44), through their advocate Ganesh Gadhe approached the HC seeking such relief on the grounds that they barely lived with the complainant on a regular basis and were implicated without specific allegations.The bench of Justice Rajnish R. Vyas on April 10 quashed and set aside FIR dated Nov 7, 2023, registered under Sections 498-A (cruelty to a married woman by her husband or relatives), 323 (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The bench also quashed and set aside the charge-sheet dated June 8, 2024 and the order dated June 21, 2024 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Rahuri, insofar as the four applicants were concerned.According to the prosecution case, the complainant alleged that after her marriage in Aug 2008, she was subjected to harassment, abuse and pressure to bring Rs.20 lakh from her parental home for purchase of a house in Delhi. She also accused her husband and in-laws of physical assault, ill-treatment and denial of medical care over a period of time.However, the high court noted that the complainant had been residing separately from her matrimonial family for over two years prior to lodging the FIR. While observing that delay alone may not be a ground to quash proceedings in offences under Section 498-A IPC, the bench held that it assumes significance when coupled with lack of specific allegations.The court found that the accusations against the four applicants were general in nature and did not attribute any distinct role to each of them. It further observed that the two sisters, being married and residing separately, could at best be termed occasional visitors and were not part of the day-to-day affairs of the complainant. The bench also noted that witness statements recorded during investigation merely repeated the version of the complainant without adding any concrete details regarding individual acts of cruelty.Referring to the settled legal position laid down in State of Haryana vs Bhajan Lal, the court reiterated that criminal proceedings can be quashed where the allegations fail to disclose a prima facie offence. Holding that continuation of prosecution against the four applicants would amount to abuse of process of law, the court quashed all proceedings against them, while leaving the case against the husband intact.
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