Karnataka High Court
Sri Pudiyatanda Subhas @ Somaiah vs Sri U M Muddaiah on 18 July, 2019
Author: John Michael Cunha
Bench: John Michael Cunha
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 18TH DAY OF JULY, 2019
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JOHN MICHAEL CUNHA
CRIMINAL PETITION No.8480 OF 2015
BETWEEN:
1. Sri Pudiyatanda Subhas @ Somaiah
S/o late Joyappa
Aged about 51 years
Galibeedu-Village
Village Panchayatha President
Galibeedu Post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu District-571 251.
2. Sri Pudiya Thanda Suresh
S/o Late Puvaiah
Aged about 31 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Kodagu District-571 251.
3. Sri Pudiya Thanda Ramappa
S/o Late Kalaiah
Aged about 69 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
4. Sri Pudiya Thanda Nanjappa
S/o Late Subaiah
Aged about 46 years
Muttlu, Village
2
Sooralabi Post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
5. Sri Udiyanda Thimmaiah
S/o Late Machaiah
Aged about 61 years
Muttlu, Village Sooralabi Post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
6. Sri Kakera Palangappa
S/o Muthananna @ Muttappa
Age about 41 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
7. Sri Monnanda Shesappa @ Shivappa
S/o Kuttappa
Aged about 41 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
8. Sri Pudiya Thanda Karyappa
S/o. Veerappa
Aged 63 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
9. Sri Udiyanda Manu
S/o. Late Karyappa
Aged 25 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Dist Kodagu-571 251.
10. Sri Karera Charmanna
S/o. Late Kuttappa
3
Aged about 56 years
Kaloor Village
Kallor Post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist-571 237.
11. Smt. Ponnachettira Bhojamma @ Bojakki
W/o. Tummanna
Aged about 36 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Kodagu Dist-571 251.
12. Smt. Ponnachettira Sarasu
W/o. Nanjappa
Aged about 41 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist-571 251.
13. Smt. Pudiya Thanda Chondamma
W/o. Somaiah
Age about 56 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist 571 251.
14. Smt. Pudiya Thanda Dharmavathi
W/o. Somaiah
Aged about 56 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist 571 251.
15. Smt. Pudiya thana Gangamma
D/o. Puvaiah
4
Aged about 17 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
16. Sri. Bottolanda Nanda Karyapa
S/o. Kuttappa
Aged about 31 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi Post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist-571 251.
17. Sri Palyenanda Thimmaiah
S/o. Annaiah
Aged about 59 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist.571 251.
18. Sri Pudiya Thanda Ravi
S/o. Late Changappa
Aged about 51 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
19. Sri Pudiya Thanda Nanjappa
S/o Late. Subhaiah
Aged about 46 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
5
20. Sri Pudiaya Thanda Nanjappa
Late. Subhaiah
Aged about 46 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
21. Sri Paleyanda Nanjappa
S/o Appaiah
Aged about 41 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi Post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
22. Sri. Udiyanda Devaiah
S/o. Late Changappa
Aged about 69 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
23. Sri Chillajammanda Yogamaiah
S/o. Late Nanamaiah
Aged about 51 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
24. Sri Chilljammanda Harish
S/o Subhamaiah
Aged about 29 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
6
25. Sri Naliyamanda Dharmaiah
S/o. Medamaiah
Aged about 31 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
26. Sri Bottolanda Subbaiah
S/o Pannappa
Aged about 46 years
Muttlu Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
27. Sri. Paleyanda Thimmaiah
S/o. Annaiah
Aged about 59 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
28. Sri. Paleyada Ganesh
S/o. Puvaiah
Aged about 41 years
Hamiyala Village
Sorralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist.571 251.
29. Sri Kochera Kammani
S/o. Puvaia
Aged about 56 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
7
Kodagu Dist-571 251.
30. Sri Kochera Nanda
S/o. Punachha
Aged about 26 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist.571 251.
31. Sri Kochera Appachu
S/o. Shivaiah
Aged about 56 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist.571251.
32. Sri Cholachanda Subhas
S/o. Somaiah
Aged about 36 years
Hamiyala village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist.-571 251.
33. Sri Monnanda Pattu
S/o. Somaiah
Aged about 46 years
Hamiyala Village
Sooralabi post
Madikeri Taluk
Kodagu Dist.571 251.
34. Sri Muddananda Madhu
S/o. Late Palangappa
Aged about 30 years
Surlabhi Village
Surlabhi post
8
Kodagu District-571 251. ...Petitioners
(By Sri V. Srinivas, Adv.)
AND:
Sri U.M. Muddaiah
S/o Medappa
Aged about 68 years
R/at No.1264, 8th Main
13th Cross, 2nd Phase
Girinagar
Bangalore-560 085. ...Respondent
(By Ms. Sanjeevini V.H. for
Sri G. Jairaj, Adv.)
This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
praying to quash the order dated 20.06.2015 in
C.C.No.15337/2015 passed by the 24th ACMM, Bangalore and
consequently quash all further proceedings in
th
C.C.No.15337/2015 on the file of 24 ACMM, Bangalore.
This Criminal Petition coming on for Admission, this day,
the Court made the following:
ORDER
Heard learned counsel for petitioners and learned counsel for respondent.
2. Perused the records.
9
3. Petitioners are aggrieved by the issuance of summons in C.C. No.15337/2015 by the XXIV ACMM, Bengaluru, for the alleged offence punishable under section 500 of IPC.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners, at the outset, submitted that the petitioners are sought to be prosecuted without there being any material to show their complicity in the alleged offence. The averments made in the complaint even, if accepted on the face value, do not show that the petitioners have any made scurrilous imputations against complainant attracting the ingredients of Section 499 of IPC. No averment is made in the complaint that the photographs appeared in Vijayavani and Shakthi, Kannada daily news papers, were published by the petitioners or that the petitioners were in anyway instrumental in causing the said publication. In the absence of any such averment, the learned Magistrate has committed a serious error in taking cognizance of the alleged offence against the petitioners, and thus seek to dismiss the complaint.
10
5. Learned counsel for the respondent argued in support of the impugned summons contending that there are clear averments in the complaint which show that the petitioners have damaged the reputation of the complainant by holding broom in front of the photo of the complainant.
6. Considered the rival submissions and the averments made in the complaint.
7. The material averments made in the complaint are at paragraph 7, which read as under:
" That, on 12.10.2013, the complainant received number of calls from his friends and various persons inquiring about the news published in Kannada 'Vijaya Wani' daily and Kannada 'Shakthi' daily news paper, wherein the accused have made defamatory statement ad reckless allegations against the complainant pressurizing the D.C. for externment of the complainant from the district. And further, publishing the photograph of the complainant showing the accused No.11 i.e., Smt. Ponnachettira Bojammamma @ Bojakka holding broom stick on the 11 photo of the complainant and the news read that, the women hit the photo of the complainant with the broom expressing their anger/anguish. The complainant was astonized and got annoyed by reading and seeing the said news items which has damaged the reputation, dignity and integrity of the complainant in the society considerably due to the reckless allegations and deliberately, knowingly made with a dishonest intention of insulting and defaming the complainant."
8. There is nothing in the said complaint to show the complicity of the petitioners in the alleged offence. Hence, in my view, the same does not constitute the ingredients of the offence under Section 499 of IPC. There are not even remote averments in the complaint to show that the petitioners herein have made any scurrilous imputations against the complainant. It is not forthcoming in the complaint that the alleged publication was made either by the petitioners or at their instance. In the absence of these essential ingredients, the prosecution of the petitioners is legally untenable and opposed to the provisions of Sections 499/500 of IPC.
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9. Consequently, the petition is allowed. The proceedings initiated against the petitioners herein in C.C. No.15337/2015 on the file of learned XXIV ACMM, Bangalore, are quashed.
Sd/-
JUDGE Cs/-