RAMESHKUMAR S/O ISHWARSINH JAT vs STATE OF GUJARAT

R/CR.MA/7495/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING & SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) NO. 7495 of 2026

FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:


HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M. K. THAKKER

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Approved for Reporting Yes No
✔
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RAMESHKUMAR S/O ISHWARSINH JAT & ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
A S TIMBALIA(7372) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
MS.MONALI BHATT, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M. K. THAKKER

Date : 09/07/2026

JUDGMENT
1. Rule returnable forthwith. Learned APP Ms.Monali Bhatt
waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of respondent-
State.
2. The present application is filed for quashment of FIR
being I-CR No. 11196036240477/2024 registered with
Harni Police Station, Vadodara for the offence
punishable under section 108, 80, 54 of BNS, 2023 and
sections 3 and 7 of The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
against five accused including present applicants who
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are accused no. 2 and 3 father-in-law and the mother-in-
law of the deceased.
3. The facts in a nut shell arising from the present case is
as under:
3.1. The deceased daughter of the complainant was
serving in IDBI bank on the post of P.O and prior to
marriage she was staying at Vadodara on rented
premises, where she continued to stay after marriage
and her service remained to continue. The husband was
transferred from Bangalore to Pune 5 months prior to
the date of FIR and he used to go to Vadodara frequently
by taking leave and the deceased daughter also used to
visit Pune. As per the allegations in the FIR, after 15 to
20 days from the date of marriage, the applicants started
torturing the deceased on the ground that their son is
serving in government office and if his marriage was
solemnized with someone else, then he would have
received a BMW car. The parents of the deceased were
called by the present applicants and were demanded
dowry which was satisfied to the extent of Rs.5,00,000/-
immediately on the solemnization of marriage thereafter,
they have continued to make demands and again the
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R/CR.MA/7495/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2026
demand was satisfied to some extent. As per the
allegations, the demand does not stop there and husband
of the deceased used to send the photographs of
different girls on her mobile which was informed by the
deceased to her father, who is the complainant, and the
complainant was frequently called by the present
applicant making complaints of their daughter and at the
end their demand stopped at the point of dowry. The
deceased informed to the father that for how many times
their demands would be satisfied and even though again
Rs.5,00,000/- were given by the complainant, the torture
and harassment remained to continue. The husband of
deceased asked her to make her father stand as a
guarantor to obtain a loan of Rs.50,00,000/- which was
refused by the deceased and ultimately on the fateful
day of the incident i.e 14.10.2024 she put an end to her
life by hanging herself on ceiling fan. The complainant,
who is father of the newly wedded girl, has lodged the
FIR and on completion of the charge-sheet as well as
after order of committal, instant application came to be
filed by the applicant for quashment of the impugned
proceedings.
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R/CR.MA/7495/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2026
4. Heard learned advocate Mr.A.S.Timbalia for the
applicant and learned APP Ms.Monali Bhatt for the
State.
4.1. It is submitted by learned advocate Mr.A.S.Timbalia
that not only the applicant but the married sister-in-laws
are also arraigned as accused, who are protected by this
Court, in the quashment proceeding on the ground that
both were residing separately in Delhi and the deceased
was residing in Vadodara. It is submitted by learned
advocate Mr.A.S.Timbalia that likewise, the present
applicants who are also residing at Haryana are required
to be protected from the false prosecution. It is
submitted that there might be dispute between the
husband and wife which resulted into the commission of
suicide however, the present applicant who are father-in-
law and mother-in-law, aged around 60 and 58 years, are
required to be protected by the quashing the impugned
FIR. It is submitted by learned advocate Mr.A.S.Timbalia
that the material collected during the investigation does
not suggest the active role in instigating the deceased to
commit suicide and by no stretch of imagination it can
be said that any abetment is caused at the end of the
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applicant. It is submitted by learned advocate
Mr.A.S.Timbalia that that in that background, the
impugned FIR deserves to be quashed by allowing the
present application.
4.2. As against the same, learned APP Ms.Monali Bhatt
submits that during the course of investigation, the
material collected suggests the active participation of
the applicants in commission of the crime. It is
submitted that Whatsapp chats reveal that immediately
before commission of suicide, the deceased had sent a
message to the accused no.1 stating that you and your
family be happy now because my tolerance level is over .
It is submitted that this message itself suggests the
involvement of the present applicants in torturing and
harassing the deceased on ground of bringing less
dowry.
4.3. It is submitted by learned APP Ms.Bhatt that during
the investigation the statement of house maid namely
Kokilaben Bariya was recorded wherein it is stated that
on the earlier day of the incident when she reached to
the house of the deceased, the husband had caught hold
of the neck of the deceased and on arrival of the maid,
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the husband left and went to the bedroom and thereafter
he was shouting on the deceased asking her to come to
the bedroom to which, the deceased had replied that she
is doing the work of bathroom therefore, she would not
come. As per this statement, the deceased herself had
disclosed to the housemaid that the in laws are asking
for accounts of her salary and demanding money
frequently. In view of the above, learned APP Ms.Bhatt
submits that at this stage the evaluation of the evidence
is impermissible and in that background all the
proceedings are required to be put to a logical end.
5. Having given thoughtful consideration to the submission
made by the learned advocates and on referring the
allegations, it emerges that the deceased committed
suicide within a period of 7 months from the date of her
marriage. The applicants are belonging from Haryana.
As per the allegations, the father of the deceased
provided Rs.5,00,000/- twice to the in-laws of the
deceased and despite the same, their torture and
harassment to deceased did not end. The demands of the
in-laws was with regard to additional dowry on the
ground that their son is a government officer. It may be
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the case where exercise of power would require wherein
the in-laws were falsely implicated however, that cannot
be accepted as a general proposition of law. The
deceased was subjected to mental and physical
harassment at the ends of the in-laws including the
applicant.
5.1. As pointed out by the learned APP, the statement of
the house maid dated 21.10.2024, who was serving for
the deceased even prior to her marriage, reveals that on
13.10.2024 when she reached the house of the deceased,
the husband had caught hold of the neck of deceased
and immediately on seeing the house maid, the he left
the place and went to the bedroom and thereafter, he
has called the deceased but she refused to go there. As
per the statement of housemaid Kokilaben, as and when
the husband came to the house, he used to shout on the
deceased for one or other reason with regard to dowry.
As per the statement, the deceased herself had disclosed
to the housemaid that her in-laws were asking for
accounts of her salary and were demanding money
frequently. During the investigation, it is found that the
deceased had sent a message to the husband, which
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reads as under:
“kr lo jitna torcher karna h jb tk aaoge na milungina
aapko, aapki ghr wale aapki bhn aur aap sb khush ho
jana ab, mujse aur bardash ni ho rha ab”
5.2. Undoubtedly, the material collected suggest that the
deceased was mentally harassed by the accused
including the applicants, on the ground of bringing
insufficient dowry. There is a concrete and precise
allegation against the present applicants and same is
supported by the material collected during the
investigation. In addition to that, the presumption under
section 113A of the Evidence Act may also be available
as the married women committed suicide within 7
months of the marriage, as prima facie material suggest
that the applicants who are relatives of the husband,
though staying at different place, has subjected her to
cruelty as defined in 498A of IPC. It is submitted by
learned advocate Mr.A.S.Timbalia that there is no
proximity link between the act of the applicants and
commission of suicide however, the Whatsapp message
as referred above prima facie suggests that there was
continuous harassment by all accused, including the
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applicant who immediately after the marriage conveyed
to the complainant that ‘ afsar ladka hai wo pehle dekhna
chahiye, ab kharcha to hoga aur dahej to dena padega’.
On the demand of the applicant, the complainant paid
amount of Rs.5,00,000/- twice and despite the same the
harassment remained to continue and the level of
harassment went above and beyond the tolerance of
deceased due to which she put an end to her life.
5.3. Moreover, in the PM report, in addition to the injury
of ligature mark, there was red linear abrasion of size 11
cm present over medial aspect of middle 1/3rd of right
forearm which suggests that there might be physical
assault on the deceased. In addition to that, there are
messages which is sent to the brother and parents of the
deceased suggesting that there was continuous
harassment to the deceased by the applicant.
6. This Court has referred the decision of the Apex Court in
the case of State of Madhya Pradesh Vs Jogendra &
Anr. Reported in (2022) 5 SCC 401 wherein, the
discussion with regard to the definition of dowry is made
as under:
10. As the word "dowry" has been defined in Section 2 of the Dowry
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R/CR.MA/7495/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2026
Prohibition Act, 1961 (for short "the Dowry Act"), the said provision
gains significance and is extracted below:
"2. Definition of "dowry". In this Act, "dowry" means any
property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either
directly or indirectly:
(a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage;
or
(b) by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other
person,
to either party to the marriage or to any other person;
at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the
marriage of the said parties, but does not include dower or mahr
in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal law (Shariat)
applies.
Explanation 1.-*
Explanation II. The expression "valuable security" has the same
meaning as in Section 30 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860)."
11. In a three-Judge Bench decision of this Court in Rajinder Singh
v. State of Punjab, Section 2 of the Dowry Act has been split into six
distinct parts for a better understanding of the said provision, which
are as follows: (SCC p. 485, para 8)
"8. A perusal of Section 2 shows that this definition can be broken
into six distinct parts
(1) Dowry must first consist of any property or valuable security-
the word "any" is a word of width and would, therefore, include
within it property and valuable security of any kind whatsoever.
(2) Such property or security can be given or even agreed to be
given. The actual giving of such property or security is,
therefore, note necessary.
(3) Such property or security can be given or agreed to be given
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either directly or indirectly.
(4) Such giving or agreeing to give can again be not only by one
party to a marriage to the other but also by the parents of either
party or by any other person to either party to the marriage or
to any other person. It will be noticed that this clause again
widens the reach of the Act insofar as those guilty of committing
the offence of giving or receiving dowry is concerned.
(5) Such giving or agreeing to give can be at any time. It can be
at, before, or at any time after the marriage. Thus, it can be
many years after a marriage is solemnised.
(6) Such giving or receiving must be in connection with the
marriage of the parties. Obviously, the expression "in connection
with" would in the context of the social evil sought to be tackled
by the Dowry Prohibition Act mean "in relation with" or
"relating to"."
12. In the light of the above provision that defines the word
"dowry" and takes in its ambit any kind of property or valuable
security, in our opinion, the High Court fell into an error by holding
that the demand of money for construction of a house cannot be
treated as a dowry demand. In Appasaheb case referred to in the
impugned judgment', this Court had held that a demand for money
from the parents of the deceased woman to purchase manure would
not fall within the purview of "dowry", thereby strictly interpreting
the definition of dowry. This view has, however, not been subscribed
to in Rajinder b Singh case wherein it has been held that the said
decision as also the one in Vipin Jaiswal v. State of A.P.7, do not
state the law correctly. Noting that the aforesaid decisions were
distinct from four other decisions of this Court viz. Bachni Devi v.
State of Haryanas, Kulwant Singh v. State of Punjab, Surinder Singh
v. State of Haryana10 and Raminder Singh v. State of Punjab¹¹, the
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Court opined that keeping in mind the fact that Section 304-B was
inserted in IPC to combat the social evil of dowry demand that has
reached alarming proportions, it cannot be argued that in case of an
ambiguity in the language used in the provision, the same ought to
be construed strictly as that would amount to defeating the very
object of the provision. In other words, the Court leaned in favour of
assigning an expansive meaning to the expression "dowry" and held
thus: (Rajinder Singh case, SCC p. 491, para 20)
"20." Given that the statute with which we are dealing must be
given a fair, pragmatic, and common sense interpretation so as to
fulfil the object sought to be achieved by Parliament, we feel that
the judgment in Appasaheb case followed by the judgment of
Vipin Jaiswal do not state the law correctly. We, therefore,
declare that any money or property or valuable security
demanded by any of the persons mentioned in Section 2 of the
Dowry Prohibition Act, at or before or at any time after the
marriage which is reasonably connected to the death of a married
woman, would necessarily be in connection with or in relation to
the marriage unless, the facts of a given case clearly and
unequivocally point (emphasis supplied) otherwise.”
13. The Latin maxim "Ut res magis valeat quam perear" i.e. a liberal
construction should be put up on written instruments, so as to
uphold them, if possible, and carry into effect, the intention of the
parties, sums it up. Interpretation of a provision of law that will
defeat the very intention of the legislature must be shunned in favour
of an interpretation that will promote the object sought to be
achieved through the legislation meant to uproot a social evil like
dowry demand. In this context, the word "dowry" ought to be
ascribed an expansive meaning so as to encompass any demand made
on a woman, whether in respect of a property or a valuable security
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of any nature. When dealing with cases under Section 304-B IPC, a
provision legislated to act as a deterrent in the society and curb the
heinous crime of dowry demands, the shift in the approach of the
courts ought to be from strict to liberal, from constricted to dilated.
Any rigid meaning would tend to bring to naught, the real object of
the provision. Therefore, a push in the right direction is required to
accomplish the task of eradicating this evil which has become deeply
entrenched in our society.
7. Having applied the above ratio, in the instant case, in
the opinion of this Court, prima facie allegations against
the present applicants related to demand of dowry is
made out, more particularly, from the statement of the
housemaid as well as the sorrowful messages of the
deceased. In that background, this Court does not find
any reasons to exercise the inherent power to quash the
proceedings initiated against applicant.
8. Resultantly, this application being devoid of merits, is
rejected. Rule is discharged.
(M. K. THAKKER,J)
ARCHANA S. PILLAI
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