IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr. Misc. No.37859 of 2007 1.VIJAY SINGH, S/O LATE RAMASHRAI SINGH 2. SHEELA DEVI, W/O VIJAY SINGH .. PETITIONERS Versus 1. STATE OF BIHAR 2. CHANDA SINGH, W/O VISHWASH SINGH .. OPPOSITE PARTIES **** For the petitioners .. Mr. Pranav Kumar, Adv. For the State .. Mr. Jitendra Singh, A.P.P. **** /3/ 19.02.2010 Heard both the sides. 2. The petitioners who are parents-in-law of the informant have filed this application for quashing the entire proceeding, including the order, dated 05.04.2007, passed by the Judicial Magistrate, Patna, in Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 732 of 2005 by which he has taken cognizance for the offence under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. 3. The facts of the case are that Chanda Singh filed an application before the Officer-in-Charge, Gardanibagh Police Station, Patna, stating therein that on 24.09.2005 at 09.30 in the morning when her brother, Chandan Kumar, along with his friend had come and asked for food the present petitioners got 2 enraged and abusing her assaulted her. She complained that her parents-in-law were not maintaining her and were torturing her. The police, after investigation, submitted charge sheet under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and cognizance was taken under the said section. 4. The petitioners filed an application on 12.02.2007 under Section 239 of the Criminal Procedure Code praying therein to discharge them from the case since no offence was made out against them despite which the Court below refused to do so and, hence, this application. To understand the subsequent part of the order it is necessary to reproduce Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code herein which reads as follows : “498A : Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty – Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.” 5. As per section 498A of the Indian Penal Code cruelty has defined as any willful conduct which would drive the 3 women to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health where mental or physical to the women or harassment of the women where such harassment with a view to cause her or any person to meet any valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand. 6. From the narrative of the first information report there is no doubt that the ingredient of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is woefully short and, therefore, no offence under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is made out against the petitioners. Further more, a domestic dispute having been converted to a prosecution under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is rather unfortunate and the learned Magistrate should have kept in view Section 95 of the Indian Penal Code which reads as : “95 : Act causing slight harm – Nothing is an offence by reason that it causes or that it is intended to cause, or that it is known to be likely to cause, any harm, if that harm is so slight that no person of ordinary sense and temper would complain of such harm.” 4 7. In the result, this application is allowed and the entire proceeding, including the order, dated 05.04.2007, passed in Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 732 of 2005 is quashed. S.A. (Anjana Prakash, J.)