- (1.) This writ petition has been filed seeking the quashing of F.I.R. dated 13.01.2019 registered as Case Crime No.0015 of 2019, under Sections -498A, 304-B and Section ¾ of Dowry Prohibition Act, P.S.-Ganga Nagar, District-Meerut and also seeking the direction to S.H.O. concerned not to arrest the petitioner in pursuance of aforesaid F.I.R. dated 13.01.2019.
(2.) If we go by the version, as has been given in the F.I.R., it appears to be a case in which the ill-fated deceased lady was married with one Gaurav on 8th March, 2018 but she could not survive even for a year after marriage and met with an unnatural death under abnormal circumstances on 13.01.2019. According to the allegations made by the first informant, the deceased was got killed by the accused persons which included the petitioner father-in-law, her husband and also the other in-laws who are co-accused of the case. It has been alleged in the F.I.R. that though in the marriage the first informant had spent more than his capacity but the accused-petitioner who is father-in-law, the co-accused husband and other in-laws were dissatisfied with the gifts given and were displeased for that reason as they wanted a Scorpio vehicle and not the Maruti car which was given to them in the marriage. In the wake of their dissatisfaction they started mounting pressure upon the deceased so that she should force her father to meet out the demand and manage the Scorpio vehicle. The deceased was taunted and jeered and was tortured mentally and physically both. The deceased had told and conveyed the aforesaid facts to her mother, to her brother and to all other members of the family. It further transpires that the unfortunate father of the deceased with the help of some relatives tried to convince and persuade the members of the matrimonial home about his incapacity to meet out the demand telling them that he had already spent in the marriage more than his purse but all attempts to make good sense prevail upon them failed and did not yield any result. The cruel treatment continued unabated. It further transpires from the recital of the F.I.R. that about two months before her death the deceased had called her father and other members of the first informant's family telephonically and it was told by her that some poisonous substance was administered to her through tea. When the people from the parental side reached there, it was found that as a result of the same the deceased had fallen badly sick. The members of the matrimonial house denied the allegations and pleaded innocence saying that something might have gone inadvertently by mistake in the tea. Apologies were tendered and assurances were given by the in-laws that the deceased would be well taken care of and shall not be subjected to any ill-treatment. According to first informant's version given in the F.I.R. the deceased had expressed her apprehensions even at that point of time telling him about the rapacious nature of the accused persons and also telling him about the hideous plans or intentions of the accused to have another marriage of petitioner's son after eliminating her. But the first informant got bluffed by the assurance of accused and did not report the matter to the police. On 13.01.2019 the tragic information reached the first informant that his daughter has been killed by the accused persons which included the name of petitioner, who is father-in-law and the names of other co-accused persons which included her husband and other in-laws. After receiving this information when the first informant and other members of his family and relatives reached the matrimonial home of his daughter, they found the dead body lying in a bathroom, who according to the first informant's version had been murdered for reasons of dowry demand. The post-mortem report of the dead body appears to have been done on 13.01.2019 and the cause or the manner of death has been opined by the doctor to be asphyxia as a result of strangulation caused by ligature. Certain other injuries in the form of abrasion and abraded contusion were also found. Viscera was also preserved.
(3.) Heard petitioners' counsel and learned A.G.A.;