Anju Kumari v. Rajesh Kumar Tekriwal), District
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:59270 Court No. - 71 Case :- APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 4635 of 2025 Applicant :- Rajesh Kumar Tekriwal Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Utkarsh Birla Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Raj Beer Singh,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant and learned A.G.A. for the State. 2. This application under Section 528 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (hereinafter referred to as BNSS) has been preferred against order dated 09.01.2025, passed by Principal Judge, Family Court, Gautam Buddha Nagar in Maintenance Petition No.125 of 2021 (Anju Kumari Vs. Rajesh Kumar Tekriwal), District- Gautam Buddha Nagar, whereby the application filed by applicant under Section 91 Cr.P.C. has been rejected.
Legal Reasoning
6. It is well settled that proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. are primarily in nature of civil proceedings and they are not to be conducted like a criminal trial. The proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. are summary in nature and they do not required the same level of strict proof, which required in a criminal trial. The objective of these provisions is to prevent vagrancy and destitution. At this stage, it would be pertinent to mention that Section 91 Cr.P.C. relates to production of documents and things. The provisions of Section 91 Cr.P.C. read as under:- "(1) Whenever any Court or any officer in charge of a police station considers that the production of any document or other thing is necessary or desirable for the purposes of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Code by or before such Court or officer, such Court may issue a summons, or such officer a written order, to the person in whose possession or power such document or thing is believed to be, requiring him to attend and produce it, or to produce it, at the time and place stated in the summons or order. (2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document or other thing shall be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he causes such document or thing to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same. (3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed-- (a) to affect sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), or the Bankers Books Evidence Act, 1891 (13 of 1891), or (b) to apply to a letter, postcard, telegram or other document or any parcel or thing in the custody of the postal or telegraph authority." 7. It is correct that provisions of Section 91 Cr.P.C. can be resorted to proceedings under the Cr.P.C. but essentially the direction under Section 91 Cr.P.C. to a person or authority to produce document or other thing can be made when the court considers that the productions of such document or thing is necessary or desirable for the purposes of such proceedings. Thus, it is discretion of the court whether to issue any summon to produce document or any other things. As stated above the proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. are summary in nature and the same are not be conducted like a criminal trial. 8. Coming to the facts of the present case, it appears that opposite party no.2, who is wife of applicant, has filed the aforesaid case under Section 125 Cr.P.C. in the year 2021. During pendency of the said case, the applicant has moved an application under Section 91 Cr.P.C. alleging that during cross-examination the opposite party no.2 was confronted with her educational qualification, occupational income, bank balance and investment etc. and in that regard she has given evasive replies and thus, the applicant / husband wants to summon following officials along with relevant documents:- a). Concerned officer from India Bulls Commercial Credit Limited having registered office at M- 62 & 63 First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001 with Relationship with the company as well as all of its group companies, statement of Account, Employment details, Account details of Anju Kumari D/o Sri Bhudeo Sharma R/o B-508 Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi-1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida. b). Concerned officer from ICICI BANK having office at Shop No. 1, Omega 1, P2 Shopping Complex, Sector Builders Area, Greater Noida-201308, with statement of account from July 1, 2022 till date maintained in the name of Anju Kumari R/o B-508 Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi-1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida 201306 bearing Acct. No. 003101504162. c). Concerned officer from Punjab National Bank having office at NS 50. Sector Pi-1, Aicher Market, Gautam Budh Nagar 201310 with statement of account from July 1, 2022 till date maintained in the name of Anju Kumari R/o B-508 AmbeyBharti Apartment, Sector Pi -1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida bearing Acct. No. 09312041020369. d). Concerned officer from State Bank of India having office at Shop No. 1, Omega 1, P2 Shopping Complex, Sector Builders Area, Greater Noida-201308, statement of account from July 1, 2022 till date, as well as from 1 April 2011 till 31 December 2011, maintained in the name of Anju Kumari R/o B-508Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi -1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida bearing Acct. No. 00000020004928300. e). Concerned officer from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, (Institute of Astrology) having office at Gate No. 1, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 10001 with record of Anju Kumari D/o Late Sh. Bhu Deo Sharma R/o B-508 Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi-1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida having completed Degree of JYOTISHACHARYA in the Year 2023. f). Concerned officer from Tagore Academy, RabindraBhavan, Near Subarna Rekha Link Road, Jubilee Park, Sakchi, Jamshedpur 831001 with record of Anju Kumari D/o Late Sh. Bhu Deo Sharma heving date of Birth 11 December 1966 and the then resident of JY-BL-1, Astha Space Town, Mango, Dimna Road, Jamshedpur having completed Diploma in Decorative Arts and Crafts in the year 1993 g). Concerned officer from IEC Delhi (Jamshedpur Branch) with record of Anju Kumari D/o Late Sh. Bhu Deo Sharma having date of Birth 11 December 1966 and the then resident of JY-BL-1, Astha Space Town, Mango, Dimna Road, Jamshedpur having completed Diploma in Decorative Arts and Crafts in the year 1998. The Petitioner Anju Kumari should be directed to provide the complete address of above institute since she has in Matrimonial Biodata has claimed to have this Diploma. h). Concerned officer from Max Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Plot No. A-3, Kaison Alfa Square Building, Alpha commercial belt Greater Noida 201301 with details of Investment in the name of AnjuKumari R/o B-50 Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi-1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida with Max Life Insurance Company in altogether. i). Concerned officer from SBI Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Plot No. B-4, 7th TRADX Tower II, Alpha 1, Commercial Belt, Block A, Greater Noida with details of present and last 3 years Investment in the name of Anju Kumari R/o B-508 AmbeyBharti Apartment, Sector Pi -1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida. j). Concerned officer from Reserve Bank of India, Gold Bond Division, Internal Debt Management Department, Central Office, Fort, Mumbai -400001 with details of Sovereign Gold Bond Investment in the name of Anju Kumari R/o B-508AmbeyBharti Apartment, Sector Pi -1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida. k). Concerned officer from ACH Nippon India Mutual Fund, Unit No. 205, 2nd floor, Ocean Plaza, P block, Pocket A, Sector 18 Noida 201301 with details of Investment in the name of AnjuKumari R/o B-508 Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi-1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida. l). Concerned officer from Axis Asset Management Company Ltd. 143/1 & 145/Ground Floor Ganpati Plaza Mangal Pandey Nagar, Meerut Uttar Praesh- 250004 with details of Investment in the name of Anju Kumari R/o B-508 Ambey Bharti Apartment, Sector Pi-1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida. m). Concerned officer from Coal India Ltd., Coal Bhavan, Premise No.04 MAR, Plot no. AF-III, Action Area 1A, New town, Rajarhat, Kolkatta- 700156 with details of Investment in the name of AnjuKumari R/o B-508AmbeyBharti Apartment, Sector Pi -1, Near Aichar Village, Greater Noida. n). Concerned officer from the Land Registrar of Jamshedpur, Tata Lease Office, Sakchi, East Singhbhum 831001, with record in respect to property bearing Khata No. 245, New Plot No. 942 Property No. 34 SNP Area, Sakchi, Jamshedpur. 9. That application was rejected by the Family Court vide impugned order dated 09.01.2025, by observing that proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. are civil in nature and strict rules of evidence are not applicable to these proceedings and that the documents, sought to be summoned by the applicant, are not necessary for disposal of the case. Here it may be stated that it is quite natural that in every case certain inconsistencies and contradictions would emerge in the statement of a witness or in statement of claimant under Section 125 Cr.P.C. but in such matters it may not be desirable to resort to provisions of Section 91 Cr.P.C., which have essentially been designed for criminal trial. However, as stated above, the proceedings under Section 91 Cr.P.C. are applicable to the proceedings conducted under Criminal Procedure Code and thereby would be applicable to the proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. If the opposite party no.2/wife has made any inconsistent statement or she has concealed material facts, the applicant would be at liberty to raise those issues at the time of final hearing. There is nothing to show that the documents sought to be summoned by applicant/husband are necessary for disposal of the case. Even no such fact has been mentioned in the application under Section 91 Cr.P.C. Considering all attending facts and circumstances of the matter, it can not be said that impugned order is suffering from any patent illegality or that there has been any abuse of the process of court or that the impugned order has resulted in miscarriage of justice. Thus, no case for invoking powers under Section 528 BNSS is made out. 10. The application under Section 528 BNSS is hereby dismissed. Order Date :- 21.4.2025 'SP'/- Digitally signed by :- SANDEEP PAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
Arguments
3. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the applicant that the opposite party no.2 has filed the aforesaid case under Section 125 Cr.P.C. The opposite party no.2 has concealed material facts in her affidavit filed in compliance of law laid down in case of Rajnesh Vs. Neha and Another 2020 0 Supreme (SC) 648. Further, during cross-examination of opposite party no.2, several such facts have emerged, which show that the opposite party no.2 has concealed her qualification, source of income and investment etc. and thus on these points the summoning of certain documents was required. In that connection, the applicant has filed an application under Section 91 Cr.P.C. seeking summoning of several documents as mentioned in the application. It was submitted that application has been rejected by the Family Court in an arbitrary manner without considering facts and position of law. It was submitted that impugned order is against law and thus liable to be set aside. 4. Learned A.G.A. has opposed the application and submitted that there is no material illegality or perversity in the impugned order. 5. I have considered the rival submissions and perused the record.