Page 1

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.  43  OF 2013 (SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRL.)NO.8522 OF 2010)  

ASHISH DIXIT & ORS.     APPELLANTS VERSUS

STATE OF U.P. & ANR.                      RESPONDENTS

O R D E R

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and  order  dated  05.07.2010  passed  by  the  High  Court  of  Judicature  at  Allahabad  in  Criminal  Miscellaneous  Application No.8358 of 2008. By the impugned judgment and  order, the High Court has refused to quash the proceedings  initiated against the petitioners by the respondent no.2- wife, under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from  Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for brevity “the Act, 2005”).

3. In the petition filed by respondent no.2, apart  from arraying her husband and her parents-in-law as parties  to the proceedings, has included all and sundry, as

Page 2

: 2 : respondents.    To  say  the  least,  she  has  even  alleged  certain actions said to have been done by the tenant whose  name is not even known to her.   

4. In a matter of this nature, we are of the opinion  that the High Court at least should have directed that the  petition  filed  by  respondent  no.2  be  confined  to  her  husband  as  also  her  parents-in-law  and  should  not  have  allowed the impleadment of respondent nos.4 to 12.

5. In view of the above, while allowing this appeal  in part, we quash the proceedings as against appellant nos.  4 to 12 in Case No.240 of 2007.  We direct the learned  Chief  Judicial  Magistrate,  Agra  to  proceed  with  the  aforesaid case; only against the husband i.e. Shri Ashish  Dixit, S/o. Padmakar Dutt Sharma, her father in law, Shri  Padmakar Dutt Sharma, S/o.late Pt.Diwakar Dutt Sharma and  Smt.Girja Dixit, W/o.Shri Padmakar Dutt Sharma, her mother  in law.

Page 3

: 3 : 6. We are of the opinion that the direction issued by  the High Court, inter-alia, directing the appellants herein  to appear before the Trial Court and seek bail is wholly  unnecessary.  

.......................J. (H.L. DATTU)

.......................J. (CHANDRAMAULI KR. PRASAD)

NEW DELHI; JANUARY 07, 2013.