Allahabad High Court
Ramanand Mishra And Others vs State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home ... on 13 September, 2022
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH ?Court No. - 27 Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 6318 of 2022 Applicant :- Ramanand Mishra And Others Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt. And Another Counsel for Applicant :- Jyotinjay Verma Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I,J.
Heard Sri Jyotinjay Verma, learned counsel for the applicants, learned A.G.A for the State and perused the entire record.
This application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed by the applicants for quashing/setting aside the summoning order dated 22.02.2022 and entire criminal proceedings arising out of Case Crime No.89/2021, under Sections 147, 323, 504, 506 and 308 I.P.C., Police Station Sangramgarh, District Pratapgarh.
The foremost contention of learned counsel for the applicants is that the applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated in this case. No offence under Sections 147, 323, 504, 506 and 308 I.P.C. against the applicants is made out. He has drawn attention of this Court to the injury report available at page no.32 to the instant application. He submits that the applicants have sought information under Right to Information Act regarding C.T. Scan report of Shiv Kumar by way of filing an application and information has been received thereof which is available at page no.37 to the instant application. It is further submitted that forged injury report of Shiv Kumar has been procured in order to involve the applicant under Section 308 I.P.C.
Learned counsel for the applicants has also submitted that the charge-sheet has been filed without there being any evidence whatsoever against them. He has further submitted that there is no evidence whatsoever in support of the charge sheet neither there is any material to frame the charge against the accused nor the proceeding can fruitfully be continued against them. His further submission is that the entire prosecution story as narrated in the FIR is improbable and unbelievable. It has further been submitted by learned counsel for the applicants that pendency of the instant criminal proceedings against the applicants is nothing but an abuse of the process of Court and, therefore, the impugned criminal proceedings be quashed.
Per contra, learned A.G.A. for the State controverts the submissions of learned counsel for applicants on the ground that this is not a stage where minute and meticulous exercise with regard to the appreciation of evidence may be done and truthfulness of the allegations could only be tested in a criminal trial and, therefore, the application is misconceived and liable to be dismissed.
From the perusal of the material on record and looking into the facts of the case at this initial stage, it cannot be said that prima facie no offence is made out against the applicants. All the submissions made at the bar relate to the disputed questions of fact, which cannot be adjudicated upon by this Court in proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
Through a catena of decisions given by Hon'ble Apex Court this legal aspect has been expatiated upon at length and the law that has evolved over a period of several decades is too well settled. The cases of (1) Chandra Deo Singh vs. Prokash Chandra Bose reported in AIR 1963 SC 1430 , (2) Vadilal Panchal vs. Dattatraya Dulaji Ghadigaonker reported in AIR 1960 SC 1113 and (3) Smt. Nagawwa vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa Konjalgi reported in 1976 3 SCC 736 may be usefully referred to in this regard.
The Apex Court decisions given in the case of R.P. Kapur vs. State of Punjab reported in AIR 1960 SC 866, Zandu Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. vs. Mohd. Saraful Haq, another (Para-10) reported in 2005 SCC (Cr.) 283 and Parabatbhai Ahir & Ors. vs. State of Gujarat reported in AIR 2017 SC 4843 and in the case of State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal reported in 1992 SCC(Cr.) 426 have also recognized certain categories by way of illustration which may justify the quashing of a complaint or charge sheet. Some of them are akin to the illustrative examples given in the above referred case of Smt. Nagawwa vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa Konjalgi reported in 1976 3 SCC 736. The cases where the allegations made against the accused or the evidence collected by the Investigating Officer do not constitute any offence or where the allegations are absurd or extremely improbable impossible to believe or where prosecution is legally barred or where criminal proceeding is malicious and malafide instituted with ulterior motive of grudge and vengeance alone may be the fit cases for the High Court in which the criminal proceedings may be quashed. Hon'ble Apex Court in Bhajan Lal's case has recognized certain categories in which Section-482 of Cr.P.C. or Article-226 of the Constitution may be successfully invoked.
In view of the aforesaid case law, this Court has adverted to the entire record of the case.
The submissions made by the applicants' learned counsel call for adjudication on pure questions of fact which may be adequately adjudicated upon only by the trial court and while doing so even the submissions made on points of law can also be more appropriately gone into by the trial court in this case. This Court does not deem it proper, and therefore cannot be persuaded to have a pre-trial before the actual trial begins. A threadbare discussion of various facts and circumstances, as they emerge from the allegations made against the accused, is being purposely avoided by the Court for the reason, lest the same might cause any prejudice to either side during trial. Therefore, this Court does not find any justification to quash the proceedings against the applicants as the case does not fall in any of the categories recognized by the Apex Court which may justify their quashing.
Accordingly, the prayer for quashing the same is refused as this Court does not find any illegality, impropriety and incorrectness in the proceedings under challenge. There is no abuse of court's process either.
However, it is provided that if the applicants appear before the court below and apply for grant of bail, the court below shall consider and decide the same expeditiously, in accordance with law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antill vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and others reported in MANU/SC/1024/2021 and also keeping in view the fact that injured, Shiv Kumar Tiwari has been initially examined by Medical Officer, C.H.C., Sangramgarh, Pratapgarh. His injury report available at page no.30 to the instant application has allegedly not been issued by Dr. Harsh Singh posted at M.L.N. Medical College, S.R.N. Hospital, Praygraj, according to information provided under Right to Information Act available at page 37.
It is also provided that in case, the applicants are found to have extended full cooperation with the investigating officer during investigation, the learned trial court shall consider and decide the bail application expeditiously, in accordance with law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal No.929 of 2021, Aman Preet Singh vs. C.B.I. through Director.
With the aforesaid observations, the instant application is finally disposed of.
Order Date :- 13.9.2022 Mahesh