Prayagraj: Observing that criminal proceedings can be quashed only when the allegations contained in an FIR or complaint do not disclose the commission of any offence or make out a case against the accused, the Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition filed by a mother-in-law seeking quashing of proceedings against her in a dowry death case pending before a trial court in Firozabad.“Quashing the proceedings will amount to ascertaining the legitimacy of the prosecution and conducting a premature trial based on expert medical evidence, which is impermissible in law,” the court added.Dismissing the petition filed by Nirmala Devi of Firozabad, Justice Chawan Prakash, in a judgment dated Sept 24, observed that allegations relating to dowry demand, cruelty and dowry death constitute a continuous chain of events from the time a woman is subjected to such acts under the provisions of the Sanhita. The court noted that the matter involves mixed questions of fact and law, which can only be adjudicated through a fair trial.The judge further observed that the accused would have adequate opportunity during the trial to defend themselves by cross-examining prosecution witnesses and leading defence evidence, if any, in accordance with law.The deceased, Pratibha Yadav, was married to Krishnakant on May 4, 2021. It is alleged that she was subjected to cruelty for dowry at her matrimonial home. As a result, she returned to her parental home on June 22, 2024. She returned to the matrimonial home on Jan 25, 2025, following repeated requests and assurances from her in-laws.On Feb 15, 2025, the deceased informed her mother that she had been physically dragged and assaulted by the applicant-mother-in-law and sister-in-law Sapna. On Feb 18, 2025, she spoke to her mother for the last time. She was found unconscious at the matrimonial home on the night of Feb 18/19. She was hospitalized and passed away after six days. Later, her brother lodged an FIR at Tundla police station in Firozabad.Counsel for the applicant-accused, Raghuvansh Mishra, argued that the deceased’s death was natural and resulted from cardiac arrest caused by medical complications. He contended that the essential ingredients of Section 80(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita were not fulfilled, as the provision requires the death to be “unnatural” or to have occurred “otherwise than under normal circumstances”, which, according to the defence, was not the case in the present matter.Opposing the petition, Tanya Pandey, the counsel for the victim’s brother, submitted that the deceased died within seven years of her marriage and, according to the prosecution was subjected to cruelty and harassment in connection with a demand for dowry soon before her death.The accused mother-in-law had filed this petition under 528 (inherent powers of high court) of Bhartiya Nayaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking quashing of the chargesheet, summoning order and entire criminal proceeding going on before the court of chief judicial magistrate, Firozabad.
