I got married 10 months back. It was an arranged marriage. I live in Pune and the girl is from Udaipur. Things did not work out between us at all. My wife went to Udaipur after few months of marriage. One day, suddenly, my wife, her mother and father came to Pune. They spoke to us (my brother, my mother and me) and we could not reach to any resolution. They asked for their gold. We gave them all their gold/silver and they too gave us all the gold we had given them. We did not take anything in writing from them while giving the gold back to them, because we thought there was no proof that they gave us the gold in the first place. They told us that we will go for mutual divorce.
A few weeks back, they called us and our relatives asking for money that they spent in the wedding. We said we had also spent equivalent amount of money. I consulted my lawyer in Pune and he said that I am not legally obliged to bear marriage expenses. So, we refused to pay them any money (We had told them to do the marriage in short somewhere near Pune but they insisted on doing it in Udaipur)
A couple of days back, I got a call from a havaldar at Mahila Thana, Udaipur. He said a complaint has been filed by your wife against you, your mother and brother for dowry and harassment. He said that we will file an FIR under section 498 in a couple of days or so. (I am not sure if section 406 has been used or not) He said we will investigate the matter but he said that the FIR will be filed for sure. He gave me his mobile number and the number of the lady SHO of that Mahila thana. I called the lady SHO and she said that your wife has filed a complaint. She did not clearly tell me if a FIR was already filed or not. She called me to Udaipur for face to face discussions/councelling. Else she said we will issue summons to you.
1) A lawyer told me that I (he on my behalf) can apply for anticipatory bail (AB) only AFTER an FIR is filed. Is that true? There is a complaint filed in Mahila thana. Can't this complaint be used to get anticipatory bail?
2) The mahila thana is not giving the copy of the complaint to my distant relative in Udaipur. They are saying that you can get a copy of complaint only from the court. Is this correct? How and when will the complaint reach the court?
3) I don't know at what point the mahila thana will convert this complaint to an FIR. They are calling me for councelling and settlement. They said they will also do some investigation. What if I don't go to Udaipur? Should I go there??? Or should I wait for the FIR to be filed? What do you guys recommend?
4) What supporting documents (character certificate, etc) can I give to make my bail plea stronger?
5) Please can you recommend me some good lawyers from UDAIPUR. A trustworthy and good lawyer, who can get me an Anticipatory Bail with ease
Regards,
Gaurav
