Karnataka High Court
S. Venkataramaiah vs State on 24 November, 1988
Equivalent citations: 1989(1)KARLJ197
ORDER
1. The short point that falls for determination in this Revision Petition is : Whether the utterance of the words matter in Vernacular omitted. by the petitioner to one S. Jayarama Rao (PW 3), within the meeting hall of the Land Tribunal, Pandavapura, in the course of the proceedings of the Land Tribunal amounts to the offence of public nuisance punishable under S. 290 I.P.C.
2. It has arisen in this way :
Petitioner is the younger brother of PW 3 S. Jayarama Rao. It appears there was a case between them before the Land Tribunal, Pandavapura. It had been posted for hearing on 15-11-1984. In the said case, petitioner was being cross examined by PW 3. Being irritated and upset by certain questions put by PW 3 to the petitioner, petitioner appears to have uttered the words matter in Vernacular omitted. and those words were obviously directed to PW 3 and not to anybody else and while uttering those words, the petitioner appears to have misbehaved. In respect of that incident, a petty case chargesheet was placed by Pandavapura Police against the petitioner in the Court of the Addl. Munsiff & JMFC, Srirangapatna, in C.C. No. 865/84. The statement of accusation that was read out explained to the petitioner by the learned Magistrate reads thus :
3. Petitioner pleaded not guilty to the said accusation. Thereupon, Sri. B. S. Palaksha, Chairman of the land Tribunal was examined as PW 1. Sri. B. K. Javarappa, a member of the land Tribunal was examined as PW 2. Complainant S. Jayarama Rao was examined as PW 3 and Head Constable H. S. Chinnabuddi of Pandavapura Police Station was examined as PW 4. Petitioner did not adduce any evidence by way of his defence which was one of total denial of the prosecution case. On an appreciation of the said evidence, the learned Magistrate by an order dt. 14-8-1987, held the petitioner guilty of the offence under section 290 I.P.C., convicted him for the said offence and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 100/- or in default to pay the fine amount to suffer simple imprisonment for 10 days.
4. Feeling aggrieved by the said Judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the Addl. Munsiff and JMFC against him, the petitioner has filed this Revision Petition.
5. Sri. P. Natarajan, learned Counsel for the petitioner, contended that even assuming for the sake of argument that the petitioner had uttered the above mentioned words, which were directed against PW 3 only then enquiry in the case between him and PW 3 was being held by the Land Tribunal in the meeting hall of the Land Tribunal, Pandavapura, it would amount to an offence under S. 290 I.P.C., as utterance of those words do not constitute a public nuisance as defined in Section 268 I.P.C. Sri. A. Giddappa, learned Addl. State Public Prosecutor, very rightly, in my opinion, submitted that he cannot support the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence as the utterance of the abovementioned words do not constitute public nuisance as defined in Section 268 I.P.C.
Section 268 I.P.C., which bears the heading "public nuisance" reads as under :
"A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right.
A common nuisance is not excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage."
6. A plain reading of the above extracted provision of Section 268 I.P.C. would indicate that in order to amount to a public nuisance, a person must have acted in a manner which may cause any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general, who might well in a certain area or in occupation of any property in the vicinity necessarily causing injury or obstruction or danger or annoyance to persons, who may have occasion to exercise any public right in respect of that locality or property. So treated, the utterance of the words by the petitioner towards his elder brother Jayarama Rao PW 3, would not amount to a public nuisance. As a matter of fact, PW 3 has admitted in cross-examination that the petitioner became enrage towards him when he put certain question to the petitioner by way of cross-examination and that apart, there was no quarrel between him and the petitioner. Therefore, I am of the opinion that the conduct of the petitioner in uttering the abovementioned words within the meeting hall of the Land Tribunal, Pandavapura, even if true, does not constitute the offence of public nuisance as defined under Section 268 I.P.C. and made punishable under S. 290 I.P.C. It, therefore, follows that the learned Addl. Munsiff and JMFC was not justified in convicting the petitioner under S. 290 I.P.C. and sentencing him to pay a fine of Rs. 100/- and, as such, the impugned Judgment is liable to be set aside.
7. In the result, therefore, the Revision Petition is allowed, the impugned Judgment of conviction and sentence passed against the petitioner by the Addl. Munsiff & JMFC. Srirangapatna, is set aside and the petitioner is acquitted of the offence under section 268 I.P.C. Fine amount if already paid by the petitioner shall be refunded to him.
8. Revision allowed.