In an unusual incident, a man sought criminal proceedings against his wife’s family, claiming they had given him dowry without his request. However, his plea was dismissed by the court, and he failed to reverse this decision on appeal.
Additional Sessions Judge Navjeet Budhiraja presided over the man’s revision plea against a July 2022 magisterial court ruling, which had dismissed his request for an FIR against his in-laws, including his wife’s parents and brother, alleging they had given him dowry. Notably, the man is currently facing a case of cruelty filed by his wife’s family.
During the October 5 order, Judge Budhiraja noted that the in-laws had already filed an FIR against him under Section 498A of the IPC, concerning alleged cruelty toward his wife. The court emphasized that “until the evidence is led by both the parties during the trial, the aspect of whether dowry was demanded or not cannot be effectively adjudicated upon.” It further observed that the man’s claim of not demanding dowry, despite receiving Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 46,500 in his account, appeared self-serving at this stage.
The magistrate’s observations also highlighted that the wife’s family had reportedly admitted, while filing their own FIR, to paying dowry to the man, which the court noted is a violation under the Dowry Prohibition Act. As per Section 3 of this Act, penalties apply for both giving and receiving dowry.
Judge Budhiraja further cited the magistrate’s findings, which indicated that the man’s repeated claims of not demanding dowry lacked evidence and seemed to be an “attempt to hoodwink this court.” Additionally, the magistrate pointed out that Kumar had not disclosed serious allegations made against him by his in-laws about his persistent dowry demands.
The court concluded that the magistrate had “suitably addressed” the issues raised in the complaint, and found no grounds to overturn the initial dismissal order, noting no legal flaw in the magistrate’s decision.