903-APPLN-1582-26.odt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 1582 OF 2026 1. Lata Madhukar Nerkar Age: 65 years, Occu.: Nil R/o 1992, Ratan Smruti, Navbharat Chowk, Dhule 2. Vidya Pankaj Pawar Age: 45 years, Occu.: Private Service, R/o Mangalam Apartment, Lalchakki Road, Ulhasnagar, Dist. Thane 3. Pankaj Ashok Pawar Age: 48 years, Occu.: Service, R/o Mangalam Apartment, Lalchakki Road, Ulhasnagar, Dist. Thane 4. Pournima Manohar Chaudhari Age: 41 years, Occu.: Household, R/o Reshmai, Plot No.96, Survey No.83/2, Sainath Nagar, Behind Delux Bekari, Nigadi, Pune 5. Manohar Vishvanath Chaudhari Age: 45 years, Occu.: Private Service, R/o Reshmai, Plot No. 96, Survey No.83/2, Sainath Nagar, Behind Delux Bekari, Nigadi, Pune ..APPLICANTS VERSUS 1. State of Maharashtra Through Police Inspector, Dhule City Police Station, Dist. Dhule 2. Sonal Vikram Nerkar Age: 35 years, Occu.: Household, R/o Plot No. 20, Snehal Nagar, Station Road, Dhule ..RESPONDENTS 1 / 6 2026:BHC-AUG:46647 903-APPLN-1582-26.odt .... Mr. C.B. Chaudhari, Advocate for applicants Mr. D.J. Patil, A.P.P. for respondent no.1 – State Mr. S.Y. Phatangare, Advocate h/f Mr. S.N. Suryawanshi, Advocate for respondent no.2 .... CORAM : HITEN S. VENEGAVKAR, J. DATE : 29th SEPTEMBER, 2026 ORAL JUDGMENT : 1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, application is taken up for final disposal at the admission stage itself. 2. Heard learned counsel for the applicants, learned A.P.P. for State and learned counsel appearing on behalf of Respondent No.2 – complainant. 3. Applicants invoke inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. They seek quashment of Crime No. 126 of 2023 registered with Dhule City Police Station, Dist. Dhule for offences under Sections 498-A, 323, 504 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and the consequential proceeding which is culminated into R.C.C. No. 938 of 2023 pending before the Court of learned J.M.F.C., Dhule. 4. It is the case of Respondent No.2 – complainant in the F.I.R. that she married one Vikram Nerkar, who was added as accused in the proceeding, on 09th June, 2010. She alleged that after a new period of cordial treatment, 2 / 6 903-APPLN-1582-26.odt her husband and members of his family subjected her to abuse, physically and mentally harassment and demanded money from her family. She further alleged that her husband assaulted her and that she was pressurized to bring an amount of Rs.5 lakh from her parents for purchase of car. On her report to the police station, crime came to be registered on 28th September, 2023. The investigation is complete and the charge-sheet has been filed. 5. Applicant No.1 is the mother-in-law, Applicant Nos. 2 and 4 are married sister-in-laws, while Applicant Nos. 3 and 5 are their respective husbands. Learned counsel for the applicants submit that Applicant Nos. 2 and 3 reside separately at Ulhasnagar, whereas Applicant Nos. 4 and 5 reside at Pune, while Respondent No.1 resides at Dhule. He submits that the allegations against all the five applicants are collective, without any particular act attributed to any one of them. Learned counsel also refers to medical certificate showing that Applicant No.1 underwent for Ca Ovary i.e. cancer. It is submitted that since the husband of Respondent No.2 has died, the applicants seeks quashment even after filing of charge-sheet as according to them there are no specific allegations against them. 6. Learned counsel for Respondent No.2 opposed the present application by stating that the F.I.R. disclose specific allegations against all the applicants. The F.I.R. discloses that there has been mental and physical harassment, abuse and assault on Respondent No.2. The applicants have 3 / 6 903-APPLN-1582-26.odt played active role in commissioning all the alleged offences, and therefore, the present application should be dismissed. 7. Learned A.P.P. also argued on the same lines by stating that the investigation is complete and it is reveals that the applicants have played a vital role in commissioning of offence. He also prays that the application be dismissed. 8. The power to quash the criminal proceeding is to be exercised by the Court with care and caution. The allegation of cruelty cannot be rejected as it arise from maternal dispute and the F.I.R. need not set out over factual details in its contents. Equally important is that the prosecution of the relatives cannot rest on the relationship with husband. The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in catena of judgments, has categorically observed that it is require to examine whether the allegations disclose identical conduct on the part of the person sought to be prosecuted, particularly whether the married relatives are residing at a separate and distant address. In the case of Abhishek Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2023) 16 SCC 666, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has laid down the manner in which the prosecution against the relatives should be scrutinized. 9. Here, the allegations concerning demand of money and harassment are at the instance of husband or as family as group. The report 4 / 6 903-APPLN-1582-26.odt does not identify the act of assault by any of the present applicants or on either of the two stated dates, nor it is stated which of Applicant Nos. 2 to 5, despite living at separate address, had made demand or participated in a particular incident and when and where that particular incident has occurred. As regards applicants, the allegations of supporting or instigating are general in nature and the ill-treatments are likewise in continuation thereof do not amount to cruelty within the parameters of Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code. There is also no act attributed to any of the applicants of voluntarily causing hurt to Respondent No.2 so as to sustain ingredients of offence under Sections 323 or 504 of the Indian Penal Code. 10. The medical certificate establishes that Applicant No.2’s treatment and subsequent illness by itself would not justify quashing the prosecution, not it is the husband which would determine the liability of other accused persons. The quashing is completely rest on the allegations and material collected against the present applicants. Taking that material at its face value, in my opinion, it does not disclose necessary conduct by the present applicants requiring them to stand the entire trial on the basis of these general and vague allegations. Permitting the trial to proceed against the present applicants on the basis of the allegations leveled against them will clearly amount to abuse of process of Court. 5 / 6 903-APPLN-1582-26.odt 11. Therefore, the criminal application stands allowed. Crime No. 126 of 2023 registered against the present applicants with Dhule City Police Station, Dist. Dhule for offences under Sections 498-A, 323, 504 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and the consequential charge-sheet and the proceeding which is culminated into R.C.C. No. 938 of 2023 pending before the Court of learned J.M.F.C., Dhule are hereby quashed and set aside. 12. Rule is made absolute. ( HITEN S. VENEGAVKAR, J. ) SSD 6 / 6