1. Heard the parties.

2. Though notice has validly been served upon the opposite party No.2 yet no one turns up on behalf of the opposite party No.2 in spite of repeated calls.

3. This Criminal Miscellaneous Petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 with the prayer to quash the entire criminal proceedings including the order dated 16.12.2023 passed by the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Lohardaga in connection with Complaint Case No.490 of 2023 whereby and where under the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Lohardaga has ordered for issuance of summons against the petitioners for having committed the offences punishable under Sections 323, 341 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code after finding prima facie case for the same.

4. The brief fact of the case is that the petitioner No.5 is the daughter-in-law of the complainant and the other petitioners are the relatives of the petitioner No.5. The allegation against the petitioners is that the petitioners called the members of the family of the complainant to be ‘Daain-Bisahi.’ The petitioner No.5 could not bear a child even after eight years of her marriage and did ‘Maarpeet’ to the son of the complainant, when the son of the complainant had gone to the house of the petitioners, to bring back the petitioner No.5- who is the wife of the son of the complainant. It is further alleged that there the petitioners also abused and threatened the son of the complainant and did not allow the petitioner No.5 to accompany the son of the complainant to her matrimonial house. On the basis of the complaint, statement of the complainant on solemn affirmation and the statement of the inquiry witnesses, the learned Judicial Magistrate found prima facie case for the offences punishable under Sections 323, 341 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code and passed the summoning order.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the allegations against the petitioners are false. It is next submitted that even though the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered to be true, in the absence of any pain, disease or infirmity caused to any of the victims, the offence punishable under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out.

6. It is next submitted that in the absence of any allegation of wrongful restraint of any of the victims, the offence punishable under Section 341 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out against the petitioners.

7. It is further submitted that in the absence of any allegation of intentional insult of such a nature as would provoke the victim to commit breach of peace or any other offence, the offence punishable under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out.

8. It is then submitted that the petitioner No.5 has instituted cases against the complainant and her family members and this case has been foisted only for the purpose of wreaking vengeance. It is also submitted that the case is next fixed to 23.03.2026 for appearance and charge has not yet been framed. Hence, it is submitted that the prayer, as prayed for in the instant Criminal Miscellaneous Petition, be allowed.

9. Learned Spl. P. P. appearing for the State on the other hand vehemently opposes the prayer of the petitioners made in the instant Criminal Miscellaneous Petition and submits that the materials in the record are sufficient to constitute each of the offences in respect of which prima facie case has been found by the learned Magistrate. Therefore, it is submitted that this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition, being without any merit, be dismissed.

10. Having heard the rival submissions made at the Bar and after carefully going through the materials available in the record, it is pertinent to mention here that so far as the offence punishable under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code is concerned, the essential ingredients to constitute the offence punishable under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code are:-

                  (i) the accused voluntarily caused bodily pain, deceased or infirmity to the victim

                  (ii) the accused did so with intention of causing hurt or with knowledge that he would thereby cause hurt to the victim.

11. Now, coming to the facts of the case; there is absolutely no allegation of any of the petitioners of having voluntarily caused bodily pain, deceased or infirmity to any of the victims. In the absence of the same, this Court is of the considered view that the materials in the record are insufficient to constitute the offence punishable under 323 of the Indian Penal Code even if the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered to be true in their entirety.

12. So far as the offence punishable under Section 341 of the Indian Penal Code is concerned, the essential ingredients to constitute the offence punishable under Section 341 of the Indian Penal Code are:-

                  (i) the accused obstructed a person

                  (ii) he did it voluntarily

                  (iii) it prevented such person from proceeding in certain direction in which he had the right to proceed.

13. Now, coming to the facts of the case; there is absolutely no allegation against any of the petitioners of obstructing any person or preventing any person from proceeding in certain direction in which he had the right to proceed. Therefore, this Court is of the considered view that even if the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered to be true in their entirety still the offence punishable under Section 341 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out against the petitioners.

14. So far as the offence punishable under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code is concerned, it is pertinent to refer to the para-24 of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India passed in the case of Vikram Johar vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Another reported in (2019)

14 SCC 207 which reads as :-

                  “24. Now, we revert back to the allegations in the complaint against the appellant. The allegation is that the appellant with two or three other unknown persons, one of whom was holding a revolver, came to the complainant's house and abused him in filthy language and attempted to assault him and when some neighbours arrived there the appellant and the other persons accompanying him fled the spot. The above allegation taking on its face value does not satisfy the ingredients of Sections 504 and 506 as has been enumerated by this Court in the above two judgments. The intentional insult must be of such a degree that should provoke a person to break the public peace or to commit any other offence. The mere allegation that the appellant came and abused the complainant does not satisfy the ingredients as laid down in para 13 of the judgment of this Court in Fiona Shrikhande [Fiona Shrikhande v. State of Maharashtra, (2013) 14 SCC 44 : (2014) 1 SCC (Cri) 715] . wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has reiterated that in order to constitute the offence punishable under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code, the intentional insult must be of such a nature thereby giving provocation to any person that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace or to commit any other offence.

15. Now, coming to the facts of the case; there is absolutely no allegation against the petitioners of perpetrating any intentional insult of such a nature which gives provocation to any person to cause him to break public peace or to commit any other offence. In the absence of this essential ingredient to constitute the offence punishable under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code, this Court has no hesitation in holding that even if the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered to be true in their entirety still the offence punishable under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out against the petitioners.

16. In view of the discussions made above as none of the offences in respect of which the learned Magistrate has found prima facie case is made out even if the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered to be true in their entirety, this Court is of the considered view that the continuation of this criminal proceeding against the petitioners will amount to abuse of process of law, therefore, this is a fit case where the entire criminal proceedings including the order dated 16.12.2023 passed by the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Lohardaga in connection with Complaint Case No.490 of 2023, be quashed and set aside against the petitioners named above.

17. Accordingly, the entire criminal proceedings including the order dated 16.12.2023 passed by the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Lohardaga in connection with Complaint Case No.490 of 2023, is quashed and set aside against the petitioners named above.

18. In the result, this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition is allowed.