Uttarakhand High Court
C482/376/2022 on 3 November, 2022
Author: Sharad Kumar Sharma
Bench: Sharad Kumar Sharma
Office Notes, reports,
orders or proceedings
SL.
Date or directions and COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No
Registrar's order with
Signatures
03.11.2022
C482 No. 376 of 2022
With
IA/1/2022 FOR STAY APPLICATION
IA/2/2022 FOR MISC. APPLICATION WITH SA
IA/3/2022 FOR URGENCY APPLICATION
Hon'ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.
Mr. R.S. Sammal, Advocate, for the applicants.
Mr. Atul Kumar Sah, Deputy Advocate General, along with Mrs. Mamta Joshi, Brief Holder, for the State.
The applicants to the present C482 Application have been summoned by the orders dated 29.11.2021 and 02.02.2022, which has been passed by the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Khatima, in Criminal Case No. 1302 of 2021, for trying them for their alleged commission of offences under Sections 495, 120B of IPC, which is presently pending consideration before the aforesaid Court.
Quite obviously, the relationship, which the applicant Nos. 2 & 3 caters with the applicant No. 1, is that of being the elder brother and bhabi and so far as the complainant is concerned, they would be jeth and jethani.
The allegation pertaining to the offence under Section 495 of IPC of bigamy could only exclusively be attributed to applicant No. 1 i.e. the husband of the complainant respondent No. 2. The only allegation which could be culled out from the statement of Mr. Arun Dev Singh i.e. the father of the complainant respondent No. 2, in order to harness upon the liability for commission of an offense under Section 120B of IPC, as against the Applicant Nos. 2 & 3, is being sought to be read from the statement recorded under Section 202 of CrPC as recorded by the father of the respondent No. 2 herein.
In fact, on a reference, which has been made therein, the only role which has been attributed to them is that if at all it could be believed at this stage, that being jeth and jethani of the complainant respondent No. 2, they concealed the fact about the bigamy of the applicant No. 1.
This Court is of the view, at this stage, the role of the applicant Nos. 2 & 3, in the capacity of being jeth and jethani of the complainant respondent No. 2, cannot be specifically extracted from the statement of an interested witness, who is the father of the complainant/respondent No. 2, who had recorded his statement under Section 202 of CrPC, nor does the specific role with regard to being instrumental in commission of offence under Section 495 of IPC, could be made out and if at all, remotedly any offence could be said to be established, that could be under Section 120B of IPC, which too is slightly doubtful because of the statement and the manner in which the statement has been recorded by Arun Dev Singh, the father of the complainant respondent No. 2 herein.
The notice on behalf of respondent No. 2 has been accepted by Mr. V.D. Bisen, Advocate; notices on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 & 3 have been accepted by the learned Government Advocate. They may file their counter affidavits.
So far as the summoning orders dated 29.11.2021 and 02.02.2022 are concerned, that would be kept in abeyance only in relation to Applicant Nos. 2 & 3 only.
Stay Application stands disposed of accordingly.
List as soon as the counter affidavit is filed by the respondents.
Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.) 03.11.2022 Mahinder/