Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:89652 Court No. - 76 Case :- MATTERS UNDER ARTICLE 227 No. - 3687 of 2025 Petitioner :- Smt. Vijay Lakshmi Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Bachan Singh Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Vinod Diwakar,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned A.G.A. for the State-respondent, and perused the record. 2. The present petition has been filed seeking a direction to the learned Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar, for the expeditious disposal of Case No. 6163 of 2018, titled Smt. Vijay Lakshmi v. Sunil Kumar and Others, within a stipulated time frame. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. was filed by the petitioner, which was treated as a complaint case. However, despite the passage of considerable time, the matter continues to remain pending before the learned Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar. 4. Upon perusal of the order sheet, it is observed that the accused persons have repeatedly filed applications seeking exemption from personal appearance, which have been allowed in a routine and mechanical manner by the learned trial court. This practice reflects a non-application of judicial mind and results in undue delay, thereby frustrating the course of justice. 5. It is not disputed that the petitioner is the legally wedded wife of respondent no.2. The record also reveals that although the petitioner initially approached the police with her grievances, including allegations of dowry demand, cruelty, and misappropriation of dowry articles, the police failed to register an FIR. This compelled the petitioner to approach the court under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. The fact that the FIR was not registered, despite serious allegations, raises concerns about possible influence exerted by the accused on the police machinery. 6. Moreover, no cogent or specific reasons have been provided by the police for their inaction, nor does the Magistrate's order reflect due consideration of the gravity of the allegations while deciding not to direct registration of an FIR. It should be emphasized that recovery of dowry articles and investigation into such serious allegations can be effectively undertaken only through a police investigation and not by proceeding solely with a complaint case under Section 200 Cr.P.C. 7. It has also come to the attention of the Court that the petitioner may not have received proper legal advice, which has resulted in her being deprived of meaningful access to justice since 2018. This is deeply regrettable. If such a trend continues, it may have serious implications on litigants and would erode public faith in the justice delivery system. 8. In light of the above, the learned trial court is directed to expedite the proceedings in the pending complaint case, preferably, within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. 9. With the aforesaid observations, the instant petition is disposed of. Order Date :- 23.4.2025 Anil K. Sharma Vinod Diwakar, J. Digitally signed by :- ANIL KUMAR SHARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad