Karnataka HC Quashes Case Against Man Whose Car Was Allegedly Used To Take Woman, Finding No Specific Act Linking Him To Offences

Respondent No. 2 alleged that accused No. 1 forcibly took her from her residence in a car belonging to the petitioner, compelled her to marry him the following day, and thereafter confined and threatened her.

She lodged a complaint on 30 March 2021, following which the police registered a case and filed a charge sheet.

The petitioner, arrayed as accused No. 2, sought to quash the proceedings, contending that no specific overt act or material showed his participation in the alleged offences.

The petition concerned proceedings in C.C. No. 23/2021 and the subsequent Sessions Case No. 33/2022.

The Court considered its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to quash criminal proceedings where the allegations and materials, even if accepted at face value, do not disclose the ingredients of the alleged offences.

It relied on Mohammad Wajid v. State of U.P., 2023 SCC OnLine SC 951, for the principle that, where proceedings are alleged to be manifestly frivolous or vexatious, the court should examine the FIR and the surrounding circumstances and investigative materials with care, rather than limiting its review to the complaint alone.

The Court found that the material disclosed, at most, that respondent No. 2 had been taken in a car belonging to the petitioner.

The complaint, charge sheet and witness statements did not attribute to him any specific act showing participation in the alleged offences or a shared common intention with accused No. 1 to kidnap or use criminal force against respondent No. 2.

Considering the record as a whole, the Court concluded that the allegations, even taken at face value, did not make out a prima facie case against the petitioner; continuing the prosecution would therefore amount to an abuse of process.

It quashed the proceedings against accused No. 2 in C.C. No. 23/2021 and the further proceedings against him in S.C. No. 33/2022.