Kerala High Court
Jayaprakash vs State Of Kerala on 3 November, 2022
Author: Kauser Edappagath
Bench: Kauser Edappagath
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
THURSDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF NOVEMBER 2022 / 12TH KARTHIKA, 1944
CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018
CC 957/2018 OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF FIRST CLASS COURT -II,
PATHANAMTHITTA
PETITIONER/ACCUSED:
JAYAPRAKASH, AGED 68 YEARS
S/O. MADHAVAN PILLAI, KRISHNAKRIPA, IRAVON P.O,
KONNI, PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT
BY ADVS.
D.KISHORE
MINI GOPINATH
MEERA GOPINATH
R.MURALEEKRISHNAN (MALAKKARA)
RESPONDENTS/STATE, COMPLAINANT & DEFACTO COMPLAINANT:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY ITS PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM 682031
2 THE SUB INSPECTOR OF POLICE,
KONNI POLICE STATION,
PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT-689 645
3 HEMA GOPAKUMAR, W/O. GOPAKUMAR, 'VRINDAVANAM',
ATTACHAKKAL P.O, KONNI THAZHAM VILLAGE,
PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT, PIN 689 692.
BY ADV SRI.VINOY VARGHESE KALLUMOOTTILL
SRI P G MANU-SR PP
THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
03.11.2022, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018
2
O R D E R
This Crl.M.C. has been preferred to quash all further proceedings in C.C.No.957/2018 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Pathanamthitta (for short 'the court below').
2. The petitioner is the accused. The 3rd respondent is the de facto complainant.
3. The offence alleged against the petitioner is punishable under Section 119(a) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011 (for short 'the K.P. Act').
4. The petitioner was working as a Superintendent at Konni Mannam Memorial NSS College and the 3 rd respondent was working as an Assistant Professor there.
5. The crime was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the 3rd respondent initially, for the offences under Sections 354 and 119(a) of the K.P. Act. After investigation, the final report was filed under CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018 3 Section 119(a) of the K.P. Act only.
6. The allegation as revealed from the final report is that while the 3 rd respondent was working as Assistant Professor in the Department of English in Konni Mannam Memorial NSS College, the petitioner who was the Superintendent of the said institution, on 07.06.2018, at 12.30 p.m., issued a notice to the third respondent and she received the notice after subscribing her signature therein. While she was comparing the same with office copy, the petitioner caught hold of her hand and forcefully took back the office copy of the notice. It is alleged that the petitioner used criminal force against the 3rd respondent with an intent to outrage her modesty and accordingly committed the above said offence.
7. I have heard Sri.D.Kishore, the learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri.Vinoy Varghese, the learned counsel for the 3rd respondent and Sri.P.G.Manu, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor.
CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018 4
8. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that even if the entire allegations in the FIS together with the materials collected during investigation are taken at its face value, no offence under Section 119(a) of the K.P. Act is attracted. I find some force in the said submission.
9. First of all, in order to attract the offence under Section 119(a) of the K.P.Act, the alleged scene of occurrence should be a public place. Here, the alleged incident was taken place in the office room of the Principal of the College. S.2(j) of the K.P. Act defines "Public place" as any place in which the public have access either as of right or not and includes in it,-(i) Any public building, monument and premises thereof, and
(ii) Any place accessible to the public for drawing water or washing or bathing or for the purpose for travel, recreation, food, rest, treatment, trade, etc or for any other service. The office room of the Principal cannot be CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018 5 termed as a public place. The general public do not have any access to the office room of the Principal as a matter of right or otherwise. Further, in order to attract S.119(a), the offender should perform any sexual gesture or act degrading the dignity of a woman. A reading of the FIS would show that there was some hostility between the petitioner and the 3 rd respondent and while the petitioner was forcefully snatching the copy of the notice from the hand of the 3 rd respondent, he caught hold of her hand. The said act cannot be termed as an act with any sexual gesture or with intent to degrade the dignity of the 3rd respondent. In the FIS, there is no specific allegation against the petitioner at all.
10. Considering all these aspects, I am of the view that no offence u/s 119(a) of the K.P. Act had been made out. Hence, no useful purpose will be served in proceeding further with the case against the petitioner. Accordingly, all further proceedings in C.C.No.957/2018 CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018 6 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Pathanamthitta is hereby quashed.
This Crl.M.C. is allowed.
Sd/-
DR.KAUSER EDAPPAGATH, JUDGE AS CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018 7 APPENDIX OF CRL.MC 6554/2018 PETITIONER'S ANNEXURES ANNEXURE I THE CERTIFIED COPY OF THE CERTIFIED COPY OF THE FINAL REPORT IN CRIME 906/2018 OF KONNI POLICE STATION ANNEXURE II THE COPY OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING FROM NSS TALUK UNION COMMITTEE NO.968, PATHANAMTHITTA ANNEXURE III TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS NO.
125/2018-2019 DATED 23-4-2018 OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE M.M NSS COLLEGE ANNEXURE IV TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS DATED 23-4- 2018 OF THE PRINCIPAL, M.M NSS COLLEGE ANNEXURE V TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS NO. M.M AC 27/2018 DATED 7-6-2018 OF THE PRINCIPAL, M.M NSS COLLEGE ANNEXURE VI TRUE COPY OF THE MEMO DATED 8-6-2018 ISSUED BY THE PRINCIPAL, M.M NSS COLLEGE ANNEXURE VII TRUE COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME 906/2018 OF KONNI POLICE STATION ALONG WITH THE COMPLAINT SUBMITTED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT ANNEXURE P7 TRUE COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME 906/2018 OF KONNI POLICE STATION ALONG WITH THE COMPLAINT SUBMITTED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT ANNEXURE VIII TRUE COPY OF THE EXPLANATION DATED 14-06- 2018 SUBMITTED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO CRL.MC NO. 6554 OF 2018 8 ANNEXURE VI ANNEXURE IX TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 19-06-2018 IN W.P(C) 14501/2018 OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT.