Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati
Sarat Chandra Madapala vs State Of Andhra Pradesh on 2 January, 2023
Author: R. Raghunandan Rao
Bench: R. Raghunandan Rao
HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO
CRIMINAL PETITION No.10422 of 2022
ORDER:
The petitioner is Accused No.1 in Crime No.425 of 2020 on the file of the Salur Town Police Station, for the offences under Sections 498-A, 313 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of Dowry Prohibition Act,1989. It is submitted that the investigation has been completed in the said complaint and a charge sheet has been filed in the matter.
2. The petitioner was arrested, in the course of investigation on the Court of the II Additional District and Sessions Judge, Parvathipuram for bail by way of Crl.M.P. No.32 of 2021. The said petition was allowed and the petitioner was granted bail subject to six (06) conditions. The petitioner had again moved the II Additional District and Sessions Judge, Parvathipuram, by way of Crl.M.P.No.37 of 2022, for relaxing the conditions set out in the order dated 19.03.2021. This application was partly allowed by an order dated 24.03.2022 where condition Nos.1 to 5 were relaxed while holding that condition No.6 would continue.
3. Aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner has approached this Court by way of the present petition. 2
4. Sri S.Srinivasa Rao, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in Suresh Nanda V/S Central Bureau Of Investigation1 in para 14 had held as follows:
"In our opinion, even the Court cannot impound a passport. Though, no doubt, Section 104 of Cr.P.C., states that the Court may, if it thinks fit, impound any document or thing produced before it, in our opinion, this provision will only enable the Court to impound any document or thing other than a passport. This is because impounding a passport is provided for in Section 10 (3) of the Passports Act. The Passports Act is a special law while the Cr.P.C., is a general law. It is well settled that the special prevails over the general law vide G.P.Singh's Principles of Statutory Interpretation (9th Edition pg.133). This principle is expressed in the maximum Generalia specialibus non derogant. Hence, impounding of a passport cannot be done by the Court under Section 103 Cr.P.C., though it can impound any other document or thing."
5. The Hon'ble Supreme Court had held that the power of impounding a passport is available only to the authority under the Passport Act and the investigating officer, in the course of the investigation in a criminal case, would not have the power to impound a passport. In the circumstances, the direction of the Court that the passport of the petitioner shall be retained by the investigating officer would effectively amount to 1 2008 3 SCC 674 3 impounding of the passport. Such a course would not be permissible.
6. In the circumstances, this Criminal Petition is allowed relaxing condition No.6 imposed on the petitioner by order dated 19.03.2021 in Crl.M.P.No.32 of 2021 by the II Additional District and Sessions Judge, Parvathipuram.
7. However, this would not preclude the investigating officer from taking steps to ensure that the petitioner shall be present during the trial of the case.
Miscellaneous petitions, pending if any, in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed.
____________________________ R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO, J 02.01.2023 RKS/KPV 4 HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.10422 of 2022 02.01.2023 RKS/KPV