Kolhapur: The Kolhapur bench of the Bombay high court has quashed and set aside the FIR and chargesheet filed by Solapur police against the in-laws who were accused by a woman of harrasment for dowry.
The court stated that mere reference to the names of family members in a criminal case arising out of a matrimonial dispute, without specific allegations indicating their active involvement, should be nipped in the bud. “It is a well-recognized fact, borne out of judicial experience, that there is often a tendency to implicate all the members of the husband’s family when domestic disputes arise out of matrimonial discord. Such generalized and sweeping accusations unsupported by concrete evidence or particularized allegations cannot form the basis for criminal prosecution. Courts must exercise caution in such cases to prevent misuse of legal provisions and the legal process and avoid unnecessarily harassing innocent family members,” the court observed in its order.
The HC bench of justice Abhay Mantri found the similarities of the case with other cases heard and judgments of which were pronounced by the Supreme Court — Dara Lakshmi Narayana versus State of Telangana, Geeta Mehrotra versus State of UP, and Kahkashan Kausar versus State of Bihar. “The witnesses whose statements were recorded have not provided any details or described any particular instances of harassment by applicant Nos.
The in-laws had approached the HC against the FIR and chargesheet filed before the trial court.