>-v APHC010457432023 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI WEDNESDAY, THE SECOND DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE HARINATH.N CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 6852 OF 2023 Between: 1. KONDRU LAKSHMI DEVI, W/o Mahesh (late). Aged about 51yrs, Caste Jangam, R/o D.No. 3-65, Pottekula varipalli Village, Kalikiri Mandal, Chitoor District. 2. Chittiboyina @ Kondru Saranya, W/o Chittiboyina Vinod krishna. Aged about 29 yrs. Caste Jangam, R/o D.No. 20-785-3 Co-operative colony, Rockdale layout, YSR Kadapa Town & District. 3. Chittiboyina Vinod krishna, S/o Krishniah (Late), Aged about 30 Caste Yadava, R/o D.No. 20-785-3, RK Nagar, Co-operative colony, Rockdale layout, YSR Kadapa Town & District. RK Nagar yrs. ...PETITIONERS/ ACCUSED AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Represented by Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. 2. Station House Officer, Kovur Police Station, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore District 3. Theru @ Kondru Ananya, W/o. Kondru Manendra, Aged about 26 Yrs , Caste Jangam, R/o Inamaugu village, Kovur Mandal, SPSR Nellore District. ...RESPONDENTS/ COMPLAINANTS Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C, praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to quash the charge sheet and the consequential proceedings against Petitioners/Accused No.2 to 4 in C.C. No. 416/2022 on the file of Learned Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Kovur, SPSR Nellore District. lA NO: 2 OF 2023 Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C and 528 of BNSS, praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to stay all the further proceedings against the Petitioners/Accused No.2 to 4 in C.C.NO 416/2022 on the file of Learned Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Kovur, SPSR Nellore District, pending the Criminal Petition before this Hon'ble Court. lA NO: 1 OF 2024 Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C and 528 of BNSS, praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to extend interim stay orders granted earlier vide lA No. 2 of 2023 dated 11.09.2023 in CRLP No. 6852 of 2023 to the Petitioners/ Accused No.2 to 4 are extended till 11.12.2023 and further requesting the Hon'ble High Court may extend the earlier order of stay until further orders in CC.No. 416/2022 on the file of Learned Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Kovur, SPSR Nellore District. Counsel for the Petitioners : SRI REGULAGADDA VENKATESH ADVOCATE Counsel for Respondent Nos.1 & 2: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT OF A.P Counsel for Respondent 3 : SRI C SUBODH, ADVOCATE The Court made the following ORDER; 1 APHC010457432023 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PRADESH at AMARAVATI ANDHRA WEDNESDAY,THE SECOND DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE present the honourable SRI JUSTICE harinath.n g^^lAL-PiimpN NO: nr onoo Between: 1. KONDRU LAKSHMI DEVI, 51yrs, Caste Jangam, r Kalikiri Mandal, Chitoor District. 2. Chittiboyina @ Kondru krishna. Aged about 29yrs, RK Nagar Co -I Town and District. w/o Mahesh (late), Aged about varipalli Village, R/o D.No 3-65, Pottekula Saranya,, W/o Chittiboyina Vinod Caste Jangam, R/o D.No20-785-3, YSR Kadapa operative colony, Rockdale layout. 3. Chittiboyina Vinod krishna 30 yrs. Caste Yadava operative colony, Rockdale layout. District. S/o Krishniah (Late) R/o D.No20-785-3 Aged about RK Nagar, ySR Kadapa Town Co- and ■■■Petitioners AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADF9H d nr^M r-KAUbSH, Represented by Public rosecutor. High Court of Andhra Pradesh. 2 % 2. Station House officer Kovur Police Station, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore District 3. Theru Kondru Ananya, W/o. Kondru Manendra Aged about 26 Yrs , Caste Jangam, R/o Inamaugu village, Kovur Mandal SPSR Nellore District. ...Respondents Counsel for the Petitioners: REGULAGADDA VENKATESH Counsel for the Respondents: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR (AP) Counsel for the Respondents: C SUBODH The Court made the following order: 3 THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE HARINATH.N CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 6852 OF 2023 ORDER: This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners, who are arrayed as Accused Nos.2 to 4 in C.C. No.416 of 2022 on the file of the Learned Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Kovur, SPSR Nellore District. The petitioners are facing trial for the alleged offences under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The first petitioner is the mother of Accused No.1, the second petitioner is the sister of Accused No.1, and the third petitioner is the husband of Accused No.4. 2. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that the allegations made against the petitioners are vague and that there are no specific overt acts attributed to them. It is also submitted that the statements of LWs 1 to 3 are mere replicas of the complaint filed by the de facto complainant (3^^ respondent), and that none of the witnesses have speak about any specific incident that would attract the provisions of Section 498-A IPC or Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. 3. It is further submitted that in the absence of any specific allegations, the continuation of proceedings against the petitioners amounts to abuse of the process of law. The learned counsel for the petitioner relied upon the judgments of the 4. 4 Hon’ble Supreme Court in Kahkashan Kausar @ Sonam & Others vs. State of Bihar & Others [(2022) 6 SCC 599] and Geeta Mehrotra & Another vs. State of U.P. & Another [(2012) 10 SCC 741], wherein it has been held that in the absence of clear and specific allegations against the relatives of the husband, prosecution under Section 498-A IPC cannot be sustained liable to be quashed. and is 5. On the other hand respondent No.3 submits that there learned counsel appearing for are specific allegations against the petitioners, and L.W.5 is an independent witness. It is submitted that L.W.1 and her parents were taken back to her are specific allegations against the petitioners in both the complaint and in the statements recorded by the police. It is further argued that the truth will be elicited during the course of trial and that the maternal home and that there petition is liable to be dismissed. 6. Heard learned counsel for the Assistant Government Pleader for the State for respondent No.3. petitioners, the learned and learned counsel 7. Perused the material available on record. 8. Admittedly there are no specific allegations against a vague reference is on record do not petitioner No.3 (Accused No.4) and only made with regard to him. The statements disclose any overt act that would attract the ingredients of Section 5 498-A IPC or Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961. 9. In view of the same, this Court is inclined to allow the Criminal Petition in part. Accordingly, the proceedings in C.C. No.416 of 2022 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Kovur, insofar as petitioner No.3/Accused No.4 is concerned, are hereby quashed. This court considering the submission of the petitioner No.1 (Accused No.2), that she is a widow and has to take care of her 90-year-old mother, this Court deems it appropriate to dispense with her personal appearance before the trial court, except as and when her appearance is specifically required for the purpose of proceedings, as directed by the learned Magistrate. 10. 11. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is partly allowed. As a sequel thereto, miscellaneous petitions pending, if SD/- A.VIJAY BABU ASSISTANT REGISTRAR any, shall stands closed. //TRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER To, 1. The Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Kovur, SPSR Nellore District. 2. The Station House Officer, Kovur Police Station, SPSR Nellore District 3. One CC to Sri Regulagadda Venkatesh, Advocate [OPUC] 4. One CC to Sri C.Subodh, Advocate [OPUC] 5. Two CC’s to the Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P. at Amaravathi [OUT] 6. Three CD Copies GPC TAG HIGH COURT DATED: 02/07/2025 ORDER CRLP NO. 6852 OF 2023 ^ 2 5 SEP 2025 j|) PARTLY ALLOWING THIS CRIMINAL PETITION