1 0 .9 .2 0 2 5 I N THE HI GH COURT OF v. St at e of Ut t arakhand & Ot hers

t hat t o 3

4. Applicant s cont end t hat t he m at rim onial discord exaggerat ed; t hat t he allegat ions are false and frivolous; t hat t here is no m edical evidence t o support t he allegat ion of assault ; and t hat cont inuance of proceedings would be an abuse of process.

5. Learned St at e Counsel and learned Counsel for t he com plainant opposed t he pet it ion. I t is subm it t ed t hat t he FI R narrat es specific dat es, locat ions and roles at t ribut ed t o each accused and t hat t he issues raised are m at t ers for t rial.

6. I n t he present case, FI R is not a bald narrat ive. I t set s out specific dat es and locat ions of m ult iple incident s, assigns dist inct roles t o each accused applicant and alleges conduct bringing t he m at t er wit hin t he definit ion of “ cruelt y” under Sect ion 498- A I PC, besides offences under Sect ions 323, 504 and 506 I PC. This Court is of t he opinion t hat t he allegat ions m ade in t he FI R, if t aken at t heir face value and accept ed in t heir ent iret y, do prim a facie m ake out a case against t he accused applicant s. At t his st age, t his Court cannot t est veracit y of allegat ions, weigh cont radict ions, or appreciat e sufficiency of evidence — t hose are m at t ers for t rial.

7. I n St at e of Haryana v. Bhaj an Lal, 1992 Supp ( 1) SCC 335, Hon’ble Suprem e Court cat alogued illust rat ive cat egories where quashing m ay be j ust ified, em phasizing t hat power is t o be 4 exercised sparingly and in t he rarest of rare cases. I n Neeharika I nfrast ruct ure ( P) Lt d. v. St at e of Maharasht ra, 2021 SCC Online SC 315, Hon’ble Suprem e Court caut ioned t hat at t he st age of seeking quashm ent , t he Court is not t o conduct a m ini- t rial or assess reliabilit y of allegat ions; t he FI R/ com plaint discloses cognizable offence, invest igat ion/ t rial should ordinarily proceed.

8. The upshot of t he above discussion is t hat t his is not a fit case for exercise of inherent j urisdict ion under Sect ion 528 BNSS. The C528 pet it ion dism issed. I nt erim order, if any, st ands vacat ed.

9. I t is clarified t hat no opinion on m erit s is expressed; all observat ions are prim a facie for deciding t his pet it ion and shall not influence t he t rial. However, before part ing wit h t he case, it is necessary t o t ake not e of t he conduct of accused–applicant Vim al Kishore Sharm a, as specifically recorded by t he learned Trial Judge in his order dat ed 25.03.2025. The record reflect s t hat t he accused, who has chosen t o pursue his case in person and is him self conduct ing t he cross- exam inat ion of wit nesses, has not been m aint aining t he decorum expect ed in a court of law. His behaviour during t he course of t rial has been found t o be im proper, unbecom ing and obst ruct ive t o t he fair adm inist rat ion of j ust ice. This Court cannot rem ain oblivious t o t he fact t hat every lit igant , while exercising his right of defence, is bound t o adhere t o t he discipline and 5 dignit y of j udicial proceedings. The accused, by indulging in such disorderly conduct , has not only dem eaned t he solem nit y of t he proceedings but has also sought t o int im idat e and browbeat wit nesses and t he court alike. Such conduct deserves t o be st rongly deprecat ed. The t rial is well wit hin it s j urisdict ion t o t ake appropriat e m easures t o ensure t hat t he proceedings are conduct ed in an orderly m anner and t o prevent any at t em pt by t he accused t o abuse t he process of law. The right of an accused t o defend him self cannot be st ret ched t o t he ext ent of perm it t ing disrupt ion of t rial or lowering t he aut horit y of t he court . The accused is, t herefore, caut ioned t o conduct him self in a m anner befit t ing t he dignit y j udicial proceedings. ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) Pr PRABODH KUMAR DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3a082a00a95aff911a9559743af8f21c50602ff6eae4e61af3a eab198d462503, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=0DC111E8D8CA66E16B940EFDF806ACCC1AB588052 DF6FCA58C67F3C91957BE53, cn=PRABODH KUMAR 6