### Specific allegations of matrimonial cruelty in FIR preclude quashing of criminal proceedings at preliminary stage Legal Summary: The High Court of Chhattisgarh dismissed a petition filed under inherent jurisdiction seeking to quash an FIR registered under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The petitioners, being the brother-in-law and sister-in-law of the complainant, contended that the allegations were vague, omnibus, and lacked specific overt acts. The Court ruled that when an FIR, on plain reading, discloses the essential ingredients of cognizable offences—specifically cruelty, physical assault, and dowry demand—the High Court cannot evaluate the veracity of the evidence or adjudicate the truthfulness of the claims at a preliminary stage. The Court emphasized that defenses such as separate residence or false implication are matters to be determined during investigation or trial, and not through the exercise of inherent powers to quash proceedings.

The petitioners, the brother-in-law (Petitioner No. 1) and sister-in-law (Petitioner No. 2) of the complainant (Respondent No. 2), filed a petition to quash FIR No. 34/2026 registered at Mahila Thana, Raipur.

The complainant alleged that following her marriage to Manish Sahu on April 18, 2024, she was subjected to daily abuse and physical assault by her husband.

She further alleged that her father-in-law abandoned her at her parental home under false pretenses and later discovered her husband had a child from a pre-existing relationship with another woman.

Specific allegations were made against the petitioners regarding verbal abuse, dowry demands, and physical assault intended to cause her death.

The FIR was registered under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

1. Whether the allegations in the FIR are vague, omnibus, and lack specific overt acts, thereby warranting quashing of the proceedings against the petitioners.

2. Whether the FIR and supporting materials prima facie disclose the ingredients of an offence under Section 85 of the BNS, 2023, against the petitioners.

Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which penalizes cruelty by a husband or his relatives toward a woman.

The established principle governing inherent jurisdiction, which dictates that a High Court cannot embark upon an appreciation of evidence or adjudicate the truthfulness of allegations at the FIR quashing stage; rather, it must only determine if the allegations, taken at face value, disclose a cognizable offence.

The Court rejected the petitioners' contention that the allegations were vague and omnibus.

Upon perusal of the record, the Court observed that the FIR contained categorical allegations of continuous harassment, physical violence, and dowry demands involving the petitioners.

The Court noted that the complainant’s claim regarding the concealment of the husband’s prior relationship indicated a potential "larger conspiracy" among the family members.

The Court reasoned that the petitioners' arguments concerning false implication and separate residence are matters of defense that must be tested during the investigation or trial, rather than in a summary proceeding under inherent jurisdiction.

It held that since the FIR disclosed the essential ingredients of the alleged offence, judicial intervention to quash the proceedings was not justified.

The Court held that the FIR and accompanying materials prima facie disclose the ingredients of the offence under Section 85 of the BNS, 2023.

The Court declined to quash the proceedings but left it open for the petitioners to take recourse to other legal remedies during the course of the trial.