Punjab-Haryana High Court
Rangi Ram And Ors vs State Of Punjab And Anr on 26 February, 2013
Crl. Misc. No.M-20820 of 2012
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
Crl. Misc. No.M- 20820 of 2012
Date of decision : 26.02.2013
Rangi Ram and ors. ......Petitioners
versus
State of Punjab and anr. ...Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIJENDER SINGH MALIK
1. Whether Reporters of Local Newspapers may be
allowed to see the judgment?
2. To be referred to the Reporters or not?
3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the
Digest?
Present: Mr.P.S. Ahluwalia, Advocate
for the petitioners.
Ms. Shivali, AAG, Punjab
for the respondent-State.
None for the private respondent.
--
VIJENDER SINGH MALIK , J.
Rangi Ram and six others, the petitioners have brought this petition under the provisions of section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing the order dated 04.12.2010 (Annexure P-4) passed by Presiding Crl. Misc. No.M-20820 of 2012 2 Officer, Lok Adalat, Samana in a case registered by way of FIR No. 115 dated 30.03.2010 at Police Station Samana, District Patiala, for an offence punishable under sections 148, 336 read with section 149 IPC and section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959.
Vide the impugned order , the untraced report (Annexure P-2) submitted by the police in the case has been rejected and reinvestigation has been ordered by the Presiding Officer, Lok Adalat, Samana.
Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the impugned order is beyond the jurisdiction of a Lok Adalat. According to him, moreover reinvestigation cannot be ordered by the court. He has further submitted that further investigation alone can be ordered by the court and not reinvestigation. He has further submitted that in these circumstances the impugned order is untenable. He has placed reliance on a decision of a Coordinate Bench of this Court in Sawinder Singh v. State of Punjab, 2007(1) RCR (Criminal) 973 where, in a case registered for an offence punishable under sections 436 and 427 IPC, untraced report was submitted before Lok Adalat and Lok Adalat did not accept the same and ordered further investigation. The order of the Lok Adalat was held to be without jurisdiction. It has also been observed that Lok Adalat is not a regular court and it can dispose of matters only where the parties arrive at a Crl. Misc. No.M-20820 of 2012 3 compromise and, therefore, the order passed by the Lok Adalat, rejecting the untraced report and directing the police to reinvestigate the matter, is without jurisdiction.
Learned State counsel is unable to controvert the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioners. None is appearing for respondent no.2, who was served for 20.09.2012.
The impugned order (Annexure P-4) has been passed by Lok Adalat , Samana on 04.12.2010, which is in the following terms:-
"Present:-APP for the State.
Cancellation /untraced report presented. Report of ahlmad seen. It be registered. Cancellation/untraced report filed by SSP Patiala is hereby rejected. The offence involved in this case being non-compoundable. File is ordered to be returned for re-investigation.
Presiding Officer, Lok Adalat,Samana 04.12.2010"
Vide this order, the cancellation/untraced report filed by SSP Patiala has been rejected because the offence involved in the case is non-compoundable and the file was ordered to be returned for re- investigation. For the reasons given in Sawinder Singh's case supra, the order of Lok Adalat is unsustainable being without jurisdiction. In view of the ratio of Sawinder Singh's case supra, the Crl. Misc. No.M-20820 of 2012 4 petition is allowed and the order dated 04.12.2010 passed by Presiding Officer, Lok Adalat, Samana is set aside . The matter would be now placed before regular court to deal with the untraced/cancellation report in a manner prescribed by law.
February 22,2013 (VIJENDER SINGH MALIK) dinesh JUDGE