Thane: A Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Thane has acquitted five members of a family in an alleged marriage fraud and cheating case after the complainant informed the court that the dispute had been amicably settled and failed to support the prosecution’s case during trial.The case stemmed from an FIR registered at Kalwa police station in 2021, wherein the complainant alleged that the accused had fraudulently arranged the marriage of a woman from his family with a man who was already married. The complainant had also alleged that the accused accepted cash and gifts worth around ₹1.20 lakh during the engagement and later threatened the family when they sought the return of the money and valuables.The accused were booked under Sections 420 (cheating) and 506(2) (criminal intimidation), read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.During the trial before Judicial Magistrate First Class G. M. Gunthe, both parties filed a joint compromise application stating that the dispute had been resolved amicably. While recording evidence, the complainant told the court that he no longer remembered the details of the incident or the contents of the complaint and confirmed that there was no surviving dispute between the parties.Observing that the complainant’s testimony did not substantiate the allegations and that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted all five accused under Section 248(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure in its judgement dated June 16, 2026.The court cancelled the existing bail bonds and directed the accused to execute fresh bonds of ₹15,000 each under Section 437-A of the CrPC to secure their presence in the event of an appeal.
