Jharkhand High Court
Md. Naved vs The State Of Jharkhand ..... Opposite ... on 21 February, 2024
Author: Anil Kumar Choudhary
Bench: Anil Kumar Choudhary
1 Cr.M.P. No. 138 of 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
Cr.M.P. No. 138 of 2021
1.Md. Naved , aged about 23 years, son of Md. Khurshid @ Khurshid Fulwala, resident of Upper Khuli, near B.L.D. Jharia, P.O. & P.S.- Jharia, District- Dhanbad
2. Md. Shad, aged about 19 years, son of Md. Shahid @ Javed, resident of Upper Khlhi, near B.L.D., Jharia, P.O. & P.S.- Jharia, Dist.- Dhanbad .. Petitioners Versus The State of Jharkhand ..... Opposite Party For the Petitioner : Mr. R.S.Mazumdar, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. J. Mazumdar, Adv.
Mr. Nishant Roy, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Mazumdar, Adv.
For the State : Mr. B.N.Ojha, Addl.PP
PRESENT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR CHOUDHARY
By the Court:- Heard the parties.
2. This criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. with a prayer for quashing the entire criminal proceeding as well as the First Information Report in connection with Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 against the petitioner and others, on the ground that this FIR is the second FIR in respect of the same occurrence in respect of which Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 has already been registered.
3. The brief facts of the case is that the Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 was registered for occurrence which took place at 13.45 hours and the place of occurrence is, at the distance of one kilometer towards the south of the police station and the FIR of Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 has registered for an offence in which the accused persons, of the case, stopped the son of the informant namely Md. Jamal while he was riding a motorcycle, and committed a murderous assault upon him with lathi (stick), and bhujali (sharp cutting weapons) and broke his leg and subsequently, accused persons, of the case, threw stones and trespassed to the house of the informant and vandalized his house and assaulted the family members of the informant, by which, six inmates of the house 2 Cr.M.P. No. 138 of 2021 of the informant sustained injuries. They also outraged the modesty of the female members of the informant party. The Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 has registered in an occurrence which took place between 13.50 hours to 14.05 hours at a place situated at a distance of 1.5 k.m. to the south side of the police station and allegation made in the FIR of the Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 is that the police party on getting secret information, that two groups, were fighting with each other, with lathi and dand, reached at the place of occurrence and on seeing the police party, the members of the groups started fleeing away but some of the boys stayed there while others fled away. When the police party was pacifying the persons, who stayed there, suddenly some of the boys in furtherance of their common intention with the co-accused persons, manhandled the police personnel and with the help of the local chowkidar, the police personnel could identify the miscreants, and basing upon the same, on the First Information Report lodged by the police Inspector of Jharia Police Station, Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 was registered for the offences punishable under Sections, 353, 323, 341, 342, 504, 506, 34 of IPC. The Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 has been registered for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 149, 341, 323, 188, 269, 270, 325, 324, 427, 504, 506, 354, 307, 337, 338, 452, of IPC, Section 3 of the Epidemic Act as well as Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner relies upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of the C. Muniappan & Ors vs State Of Tamil Nadu reported in (2010) 9 SCC 567, wherein in the facts of that case, the members of a political party, vandalized two different buses upon their leader being convicted in a case and imprisoned wherein; in the facts of that case, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, observed that keeping in view the totality of the circumstances of that case, and the consequence in which, two incidents of vandalizing two different buses occurred, the second occurrence was nothing but a fall out of the first occurrence and they are the part of one and same incidence so they can be clubbed together and one charge sheet could be filed.
3 Cr.M.P. No. 138 of 20215. Learned counsel for the petitioner next relies upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of the Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah vs Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr. reported in (2013) 6 SCC 348, wherein in the facts of that case, one being the conspiracy relating to murder of Sohrabuddin with the help of Tulsiram Prajapati and the other being the conspiracy to murder, Tulsiram Prajapati a potential witness, to the earlier conspiracy of murder of Sohrabuddin, the Hon'ble Supreme court of India, in the facts of that case, held that 'consequence test' laid down in the case of C. Muniappan & Ors vs State Of Tamil Nadu (supra) i.e. if an offence forming part of the second FIR arises as a consequence of the offence alleged in the first FIR, then offences covered by both the FIRs are the same and, accordingly, the second FIR will be impermissible in law; is applicable in that case, hence, held that the offences covered in both the FIRs, to be treated as a part of the first FIR and submits that in this case also, the occurrence relating to this FIR, fulfills the 'consequence test' as has been laid down in the case of C. Muniappan & Ors vs State Of Tamil Nadu (supra) and as the occurrence of this case, has taken place as the consequence of the occurrence relating to which, Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 has been registered, hence, it is submitted that the entire criminal proceeding as well as the first Information Report in connection with Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 be quashed and set aside.
6. Learned Addl. PP opposes the prayer for quashing the entire criminal proceeding as well as the first Information Report in connection with Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 on the ground that the same relates to a different occurrence. It is further submitted that the place of the occurrence of the two cases, is at a distance of half kilometer from each other and time of the two occurrences are different and there is no material in the record to suggest that the accused persons of Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 , who inter alia after assaulting the son of the informant, broke his motorcycle, vandalized the house of the informant of Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 and outraged the modesty of the women of the family of the informant of that case, continued as a member of the unlawful assembly and caused the occurrence for which, 4 Cr.M.P. No. 138 of 2021 Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 has been registered. It is further submitted by learned Addl. PP that on the other hand, the facts of Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 categorically goes to show that the accused persons, of that case, were not the members of an unlawful assembly, rather they committed the occurrence, in furtherance of their common intention. Hence, by no stretch of imagination, it can be said that the members of the unlawful assembly, who committed the first occurrence, continued in such unlawful assembly, to commit the occurrence relating to which, Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 has been registered, hence, it is submitted that this is a case, where this FIR fails to stand on the 'consequence test', as has been laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme court of India in the case of C. Muniappan & Ors vs State Of Tamil Nadu (supra), hence, it is submitted that this criminal miscellaneous petition being without any merit be dismissed.
7. Having heard the submissions made at the bar, and after going through the materials in the record, it is crystal clear that the first occurrence, for which, Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 has been registered, took place and same was committed by the members of an unlawful assembly, unlike in the case of C. Muniappan & Ors vs State Of Tamil Nadu (supra), there is no material in the record, which suggests that it is the same unlawful assembly, which committed the offence in respect of which, Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 has been registered, rather, there is no allegation in Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 that the members of an unlawful assembly, committed the offence. The place of occurrence of Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 , was at a distance of half kilometer, and the same includes the house of the informant of that case, which was vandalized and where the modesty of the females members of the house of the informant were outraged, murderous assault was made upon the inmates of the house by which, six inmates of the house, sustained injury, whereas the place of occurrence, in respect of which, Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 has been registered, was for an entirely different occurrence, where the accused persons of that case in furtherance of their common intention, criminally intimated the police personnel, deterring them from discharging their duties and wrongfully restrained and confined them, besides causing hurt to them.
5 Cr.M.P. No. 138 of 20218. Hence, in the considered opinion of this Court, the material in the record categorically goes to show that the occurrence for which, FIR of Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020 has been registered, has not been committed by the members of an unlawful assembly, unlike the Jharia P.S. case no. 177 of 2020 and also keeping in view the fact that the learned counsel for the petitioner, fairly submits that she has no idea as to the present status of both the FIRs, whether the trial of the case, has begun or concluded, this Court is not inclined to quash the entire criminal proceeding in connection with Jharia P.S. case no. 178 of 2020.
9. Accordingly, this criminal miscellaneous petition being without any merit is dismissed.
(Anil Kumar Choudhary, J.) High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi Dated, the 21st February, 2024 Smita /AFR