Matrimonial dispute drags Anil Vij under scanner

High Court notice to Haryana as audio recording seeks to link minister Anil Vij to pressure on police in matrimonial case

Written by Manraj Grewal Sharma

Chandigarh | September 19, 2025 12:24 PM IST

2 min read

The dispute stems from a complaint lodged by the wife on May 30, 2025, accusing her husband and his family of dowry demands and cruelty.(File)

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notice to the State of Haryana on a petition alleging that cabinet minister Anil Vij pressured police officers in Ambala to alter an inquiry report in a dowry harassment case and falsely implicate a woman’s in-laws.

Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya passed the order on a plea filed by Shekhar Garg and others, represented by advocate Nikhil Ghai. The petitioners alleged that Ambala Women’s Police Station SHO Sunita Dhaka had initially recommended that only the husband, Anurag Garg, and his elder brother be named in the FIR. However, under pressure from the Ambala Superintendent of Police “at the behest of” Vij, the parents-in-law were also added as accused

The dispute stems from a complaint lodged by the wife on May 30, 2025, accusing her husband and his family of dowry demands and cruelty. The couple had married in November 2022 and were living and working in Bengaluru. The petition points out that while the complainant resided with her husband in Bengaluru, the parents-in-law lived separately in Mansa and another brother-in-law was posted in Mohali, making the allegations against them untenable.

According to the petition, Dhaka’s original inquiry report dated August 19, 2025, concluded that no case was made out against Raj Kumar Garg and Pushpa Garg, the complainant’s father- and mother-in-law. But in a subsequent phone call with petitioner Shekhar Garg, the SHO allegedly claimed that she was being pressured.

In the audio recording cited in the plea, Dhaka is heard saying that Vij was “calling again and again” and telling her and the SP to “change the findings” and add all four family members in the FIR.

The petitioners argued that the minister’s alleged interference stemmed from his close association with the complainant’s family.

The family has also represented the matter before the Haryana Governor, Chief Minister, state and national human rights commissions, and the DGP, but no action has followed.

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Additional Advocate General Amit Sahni accepted notice on behalf of the state and sought time to file a reply. The matter will be heard again on October 13.

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