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TMI Blog2011 (7) TMI 1024X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... plaint filed by the respondent no. 2 for alleged commission of offence by the appellant under Section 498A IPC, is hereby set aside and the complaint lodged by the respondent no. 2 under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code as well as charge sheet submitted by the Investigating Officer for the same shall stand restored/revived. Subject to above mentioned direction the appeal stands disposed of. - CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1428 OF 2011 - - - Dated:- 21-7-2011 - J.M. PANCHAL AND H.L. GOKHALE, JJ. JUDGEMENT J.M. PANCHAL, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. This appeal by grant of Special Leave, questions the legality of Judgment dated 26.02.2010, rendered by the learned Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature, Andhra Pradesh in Criminal Petition No. 2426 of 2005 by which the prayer made by the appellant, a Police Officer, to quash the proceeding in C.C. No. 820 of 1996 initiated for commission of offences punishable under Sections 498A, 494, 495, 417 and 420 IPC, has been partly allowed by quashing proceedings insofar as offence punishable under Section 498A IPC is concerned, whereas the proceedings relating to the offences punishable under Sections 494, 495, 417 and 420 IPC are ord ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The record shows that earlier Criminal Petition No. 812 of 2001 was filed by the appellant before the High Court to quash the proceedings initiated pursuant to C.C. No. 820 of 1996 pending on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate. However, the said petition was withdrawn by the appellant and therefore the petition was dismissed by the High Court vide order dated 09.04.2005 reserving liberty to the appellant to file a fresh petition in case of necessity. After few days thereof, the appellant filed Criminal Petition No. 2426 of 2005 in the High Court for quashing the proceedings in the Criminal Case pending before the learned Magistrate. The record does not indicate as to why Criminal Petition No. 812 of 2001 filed by the appellant in which similar reliefs as claimed in Criminal Petition No. 2426 of 2005, were claimed, was withdrawn and which were the new/additional circumstances/grounds which prompted the appellant to file Criminal Petition No. 2426 of 2005. The said petition was filed mainly on the ground that the proceedings against the appellant were registered for commission of above mentioned offences on the basis of charge sheet submitted by the Sub-Inspector of Police, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna (supra) and after noting contentions on behalf of the parties proceeded to consider the decision in the case of S.Radhika Sameena Vs. Station House Officer, 1997 Criminal Law Journal 1655 and held that the decision of the Division Bench in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna (supra) was holding the field with regard to competency of the police to file charge sheet and competency of the Magistrate to take cognizance of the offences punishable under Sections 494 and 495 IPC on the report filed by the police. The High Court further concluded that taking cognizance of the offences punishable under Sections 417, 420, 494 and 495 IPC was in accordance with law, but the victim i.e. the respondent no. 2 in the present case was second wife and therefore prima facie marriage between appellant and the second respondent was void and therefore, offence under Section 498A IPC was not made out against the appellant. 6. In view of the above mentioned conclusions, the learned Single Judge of the High Court by the impugned Judgment partly accepted the petition filed by the appellant under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by quashing the proceedings in C.C.No. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 98 of the Code and is illegal. What was asserted was that the High Court failed to notice that under Section 198(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code only a legally wedded wife or someone on her behalf as mentioned in the said Section can make a complaint to Magistrate for the offences under Section 494 and 495 IPC and as admittedly the complaint was made by the respondent no. 2 who is claiming to be second wife of the appellant herein and that too to the police and not in the Court, the proceedings initiated for alleged commission of those offences should have been quashed. In support of above stated contentions, the learned Counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on the decision in Mavuri Rani Veera Bhadranna (Supra). 8. On the other hand, the learned Counsel for the respondents argued that by Code of Criminal Procedure (Andhra Pradesh Second Amendment) Act, 1992, the offences under Sections 494 and 495 have been made cognizable in the State of Andhra Pradesh, and therefore the respondent No. 2 who is aggrieved person so far as commission of offences punishable under Sections 494 and 495 IPC are concerned, was justified in lodging FIR with the police and the police after inv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cruelty of variety of kinds etc. and is not able to maintain herself. Law of inheritance would prejudicially operate against her. She herself would suffer outrageous, wrong and absurd social stigma of being another woman in the life of the male who contracts second marriage with her. The members of the cruel society including her kith and kin like parents, brother, sister etc. would look down upon her and she would be left in lurch by one and all. When a Court of law declares second marriage to be void on a petition presented by husband who contracts the second marriage on the ground that he has a spouse living at the time of marriage, it only brings untold hardships and miseries in the life of the woman with whom second marriage is performed apart from shattering her ambition to live a comfortable life after marriage. Having noticed the agony, trauma etc. which would be suffered by the woman with whom second marriage is performed, if the marriage is declared to be void, let us make an attempt to ascertain the purpose of enacting Section 494 IPC. This Section introduces monogamy which is essentially voluntary union of life of one man with one woman to the exclusion of all other ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ration of nullity of marriage and it may be open to the parties even without recourse to the Court to treat the marriage as a nullity, such a course is neither prudent nor intended and a declaration in terms of Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act will have to be asked for, for the purpose of precaution and/or record. Therefore, until the declaration contemplated by Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act is made by a competent Court, the woman with whom second marriage is solemnized continues to be the wife within the meaning of Section 494 IPC and would be entitled to maintain a complaint against her husband. Even otherwise, as explained earlier, she suffers several legal wrongs and/or legal injuries when second marriage is treated as a nullity by the husband arbitrarily, without recourse to the Court or where declaration sought is granted by a competent Court. The expression aggrieved person denotes an elastic and an elusive concept. It cannot be confined within the bounds of a rigid, exact and comprehensive definition. Its scope and meaning depends on diverse, variable factors such as the content and intent of the statute of which contravention is alleged, the specific circums ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts the offence defined in the last preceding Section........ The reference to Section 494 IPC in Section 495 IPC makes it clear that Section 495 IPC is extension of Section 494 IPC and part and parcel of it. The concealment spoken of in Section 495 IPC would be from the woman with whom the subsequent marriage is performed. Therefore, the wife with whom the subsequent marriage is contracted after concealment of former marriage, would also be entitled to lodge complaint for commission of offence punishable under Section 495 IPC. Where second wife alleges that the accused husband had married her according to Hindu rites despite the fact that he was already married to another lady and the factum of the first marriage was concealed from her, the second wife would be an aggrieved person within the meaning of Section 198 Cr. P.C. If the woman with whom the second marriage is performed by concealment of former marriage is entitled to file a complaint for commission of offence under Section 495 IPC, there is no reason why she would not be entitled to file complaint under Section 494 IPC more particularly when Section 495 IPC is extension and part and parcel of Section 494 IPC. For all ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nter alia mentions that Section 494 and 495 are non-cognizable. Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code relates to information in cognizable cases and provides inter alia that every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an Officer in charge of a Police Station, shall be reduced to writing by him and be read over to the informant. Section 156 of the Code provides that any Officer in charge of a Police Station may, without the order of a Magistrate, investigate any cognizable case which a Court having jurisdiction over a local area within the limits of such station would have power to enquire into or try under provisions of Chapter XIII of Criminal Procedure Code. As Sections 494 and 495 are made non-cognizable, a Police Officer would not have power to investigate those cases without the order of a Magistrate, having a power to try such cases or commit such cases for trial as provided under Section 155(2) of the Code. However, this Court finds that the Legislative Assembly of the State of Andhra Pradesh enacted the Code of Criminal Procedure (Andhra Pradesh Second Amendment) Act, 1992. By the said Amending Act, the First Schedule to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ature of such State shall, if it has bee reserved for the consideration of the President and has received his assent, prevail in that State. Provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent Parliament from enacting a law adding to, amending, varying or repealing the law made by the legislature of the State . There is no manner of doubt that Amending Act of 1992 is on the subject which is already in existence in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. However, in view of Clause (2) of Article 254 of the Constitution, an undoubted power to legislate, of course subject to assent of the President on the subject already in existence, is available to the State Legislature. Clause (1) of Article 254 is operative subject to provisions of Clause (2). If a law passes a test of Clause (2), it will make Clause (1) inapplicable to it. To the general rule laid down in Clause (1), Clause (2) engrafts an exception, viz., that if the President assents to a State Law which has been reserved for his consideration as required by Article 200, it will prevail notwithstanding its repugnancy to an earlier law of Union. Clause (2) provides for curing of repugnancy which would otherwise invalidate a Sta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e the fact that the State Legislation made amendment to the Schedule of Criminal Procedure Code, with respect, is erroneous and contrary to all cannons of interpretation of statute. Once First Schedule to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 stands amended and offences punishable under Sections 494 and 495 IPC are made cognizable offences, those offences will have to be regarded as cognizable offences for all purposes of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 including for the purpose of Section 198 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 198(1)(c), after the Amendment made by the Code of Criminal Procedure(Andhra Pradesh Second Amendment) Act, 1992 cannot be interpreted in isolation without referring o the fact that offences under Sections 494 and 495 IPC have been made cognizable so far as the State of Andhra Pradesh is concerned. Therefore, the provision made in Section 198(1)(c) that no Court shall take cognizance of an offences punishable under Chapter XX of the IPC except upon a complaint made by some person aggrieved will have to be read subject to the amendment made by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Andhra Pradesh in 1992. Once, it is held that the offences under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... na (supra), the Division Bench has considered effect of Section 155(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code and thereafter held that the bar under Section 198 would not be applicable as complaint lodged before police for offence under Section 494 IPC also related to other cognizable offences and if police files a charge sheet, the Court can take cognizance also of offence under Section 494 along with other cognizable offences by virtue of Section 155 (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code. 15. Section 155(4) of the Code inter alia provides that:- Where a case relates to two or more offences of which at least one is cognizable, the case shall be deemed to be a cognizable case, notwithstanding that the other offences are non-cognizable Here in this case in the charge sheet it is mentioned that the appellant has also committed offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code which is cognizable and therefore this is a case which relates to two or more offences of which at least one is cognizable and therefore the case must be deemed to be cognizable case notwithstanding that the other offences are non- cognizable. This is not a case in which the FIR is exclusively filed for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent to a woman over demand of money. The nomenclature dowry does not have any magic charm written over it. It is just a label given to demand of money in relation to marital relationship. The legislative intent is clear from the fact that it is not only the husband but also his relations who are covered by Section 498A. The legislature has taken care of children born from invalid marriages. Section 16 of the Marriage Act deals with legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages. Can it be said that the legislature which was conscious of the social stigma attached to children of void and voidable marriages closed its eyes to the plight of a woman who unknowingly or unconscious of the legal consequences entered into the marital relationship? If such restricted meaning is given, it would not further the legislative intent. On the contrary, it would be against the concern shown by the legislature for avoiding harassment to a woman over demand of money in relation to marriages. The first exception to Section 494 has also some relevance. According to it, the offence of bigamy will not apply to any person whose marriage with such husband or wife has been declared void by a court ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... earned Single Judge of the High Court could not have afforded to ignore the law declared by this Court in Reema Aggarwal (Supra) while considering the question whether proceedings initiated by the respondent no. 2 for commission of offence punishable under Section 498A of IPC should be quashed or not. The High Court has completely misdirected itself in quashing the proceedings for the offence punishable under Section 498A of IPC. There is no manner of doubt that the finding recorded by the High Court that the respondent no. 2 is not the wife within the meaning of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code runs contrary to law declared by this Court in case of Reema Aggarwal (Supra). There may be several reasons due to which the State might not have challenged that part of the Judgment of the learned Single Judge quashing the complaint filed by the respondent no. 2 under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. So also because of several reasons such as want of funds, distance, non-availability of legal advice, etc. the original complainant might not have approached this Court to challenge that part of the judgment of the learned Single Judge which is quite contrary to the law declared by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arned Single Judge that the complaint lodged by the respondent no. 2 for alleged commission of offence punishable under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is not maintainable because she is not a wife, this Court feels that absence of challenge either by State or by the original complainant should not persuade or prevent this Court from doing justice between the parties by restoring the complaint filed by the respondent no. 2 under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code on the file of the learned Magistrate. The conclusion arrived at by the High Court is such as to shake the conscience and sense of justice and therefore it is the duty of this Court to strike down the finding recorded with respect to the offence punishable under Section 498A, irrespective of technicalities. The judgment of the High Court quashing the proceedings initiated by the learned Magistrate for commission of offence punishable under Section 498A is tainted with serious legal infirmities and is founded on a legal construction which is wrong. So the technical plea advanced by the learned counsel for the appellant that in absence of appeal by any of the respondents, quashing of proceedings with respect to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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