HC nixes FIR against senior citizen citing likelihood of its use to settle marital dispute involving two families

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Bombay high court's Aurangabad bench has quashed and set aside an FIR and the chargesheet under the Black Magic Act against a 65-year-old Mhada Colony resident, holding that the possibility of the FIR being filed as a tool to settle a Family Court dispute involving the Applicant and the Informant's (complainant) families cannot be ruled out.The bench of Justice SG Chapalgaonkar said on April 20 that mere allegation that the accused sprinkled white mustard in the premises of informant's (complainant) house, without explaining the intention behind the act, was not possible to bring such act within the purview of Section 3(2) of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.Section 3(2) of the Act makes it illegal to promote, propagate, or practice black magic, human sacrifice, or other inhuman practices with the intent to exploit or harm individuals. Offences under this section often involve fraudulent miracles or dangerous rituals."Even otherwise, if allegations in FIR are taken as it is on face value, the act of sprinkling white mustard by the accused itself would not constitute an offence punishable under Section 3(2) of Act of 2013," the bench held."It is discernible that Applicant and Informant are distant relatives and there was an ongoing matrimonial dispute between family members. The matrimonial dispute between Applicant's son and his wife (niece of informant) was settled in Family Court xxxx as per terms of compromise dated June 23, 2025, and the present FIR is lodged (three days before such compromise) on June 20, 2025. There is close semblance between the two proceedings. The possibility that the FIR is filed as a tool in settlement cannot be ruled out," the bench said.The prosecution's case was that the informant (all names withheld due to the background of divorce case involving the two families), a resident of CIDCO, Ayodhyanagar, found white mustard sprinkled in front of his house on the morning of June 11, 2025. He checked CCTV footage of his neighbour and spotted a motorcycle, driven by a man wearing a helmet, passing his house in the night. The vehicle registration number of this bike was in the name of the Applicant and, hence, an FIR under the Black Magic Act was registered against the Applicant.The bench noted that the Applicant was identified based on an alleged footage recorded in camera at the house of the Informant's neighbour. However, the chargesheet showed that the neighbour's statement was neither recorded nor made part of the chargesheet and the theory that the motorcycle seen in the footage was not supported by the neighbour, who is the custodian of the CCTV, the bench said. There was nothing on record to show that the Applicant was the person riding the motorcycle, the bench added.The Applicant's lawyers Sana Raees Khan and Harshal Randhir had argued, among other things, that the allegations in the FIR did not constitute the ingredients of an offence under Section 3(2) of the Black Magic Act. Moreover, they submitted that the FIR was a "counterblast" arising from the matrimonial dispute and was malafide against the elderly Applicant.
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