The Patna High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of dowry harassment under Section 498A IPC - after it emerged that his wife, believed dead by her own family, was actually living in Mumbai the whole time.
Background of the Case
The case involves Dinesh Kushwaha, who married Punam Devi on 11 May 2016 as per Hindu customs. According to the complaint, the bride's father gave ₹5,50,000 in cash, a motorcycle and a gold chain at the time of marriage. When Punam arrived at her matrimonial home following her gawna on 15 February 2017, she alleged that her husband told her he was already married and that she could either accept it or leave. She further alleged she was denied food and water, tortured, and eventually thrown out on 26 February 2017 after her stridhan was taken away.
What followed was stranger still. The accused allegedly spread word that Punam had died. Her grief-stricken parents ended up misidentifying a decomposed, unclaimed female body recovered by Pachrukhi Police as their daughter's, leading to a separate police case.
The petitioner's side told a very different story. His counsel argued that Punam stayed only ten days and left voluntarily on 25 February 2017, travelling via Gopalganj to Mumbai on her own. When police later got a tip that she was alive and her family was secretly trying to bring her back, she was traced and her statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC - where she reportedly admitted she was alive and had left willingly.
The defence called the 498A complaint a "malicious counter-blast" meant to frame the family, relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in Preeti Gupta v. State of Jharkhand (2010) 7 SCC 667, which cautioned against exaggerated matrimonial allegations.
The State and Punam's counsel opposed the plea, insisting the trial court had rightly taken cognizance based on prima facie material.
Justice Praveen Kumar, after hearing both sides and examining the record, held that the impugned cognizance order dated 19.09.2017 could not be sustained.
The Court quashed the order taking cognizance under Section 498A IPC passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-XVI, Gopalganj, and allowed the application.
Case Details
Case Title: D. K. v. State of Bihar & Anr.
Case Number: Criminal Miscellaneous No. 33530 of 2018
Judge: Justice Praveen Kumar
Decision Date: 04 August 2026
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