Justice Sridevi emphasizes misuse of law in absence of specific allegations or credible evidence.
Hyderabad: Justice Juvvadi Sridevi ruled that the inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the CrPC could be invoked to quash proceedings, particularly when a criminal case is manifestly attended with malafide intent or instituted with an ulterior motive. The judge was adjudicating a criminal petition filed by five persons. According to the complaint, the marriage between the complainant and the petitioner was solemnised in 2010. It was alleged that soon after the marriage, the accused persons, including the husband, his parents, brother and married sister, subjected the complainant to physical and mental harassment for additional dowry. The complainant alleged that after the birth of a female child, the accused persons pressured her to kill the baby owing to her dark complexion and subsequently expelled her from the matrimonial home. Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the allegations were unsubstantiated and lacked the essential ingredients to attract the provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act. It was argued that the complainant had earlier filed similar complaints in 2013, including maintenance and domestic violence proceedings, which were ultimately compromised. The parties thereafter resumed cohabitation, had another child and led a reasonably peaceful life for several years. The present complaint, filed in 2021, was based on the same set of allegations as the earlier one, thereby clearly indicating a malicious intent to harass the petitioners. The judge emphasised that the mere naming of family members in a dowry-related complaint, without specific and concrete allegations, amounted to an abuse of the process of law and could not be permitted to proceed to trial. Applying these principles, the judge found that no specific date, time or place was mentioned regarding the alleged acts of cruelty, nor were any overt acts attributed to the petitioners. It was also observed that they were living separately and had minimal contact with the complainant. The judge held that the continuation of criminal proceedings, in the absence of specific and prima facie credible allegations, would amount to an abuse of the judicial process.
HC halts hosp. deregistration in Jammikunta
Justice E.V. Venugopal of the Telangana High Court granted interim protection to Sapthagiri Hospitals, Jammikunta, by staying the proceedings issued in March 2025 by the district medical and health officer and the district registration authority, Karimnagar, which cancelled its registration and placed it on the block list. The judge entertained a writ plea filed by the management of the hospital. It was the case of the petitioner that the impugned notice was issued without following due process, particularly without issuing a prior notice or affording an opportunity to be heard, in violation of the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010. The court held that the matter required detailed examination, especially in light of the alleged denial of natural justice. Accordingly, it granted an interim stay on further proceedings arising from the impugned notice until the next hearing. The court issued notice before admission to the respondents and directed the authorities to file their counter-affidavit. The matter was posted for further adjudication.
