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NC: 2024:KHC:23844

3. Brief facts that leads the petitioner before this Court in the subject petition, as borne out from the pleadings, are as follows:

A complaint is registered on 09.08.2020, which becomes a crime in Crime No.19/2020 for offences punishable under Sections 21 and 21(C) of the Act. The police after investigation file a charge sheet in the matter and the matter was set to trial in Spl. Case Nos.103/2021 and 118/2021. The petitioner was arrayed as accused No.3 in the aforesaid case. While the trial was continued against all others, since the petitioner on few dates, when the charge was sought to be framed by the learned Sessions Judge, had remained absent, owing to his absence, the charge sheet was split against the petitioner.

NC: 2024:KHC:23844

7. In the considered view of this Court, if further proceedings are permitted to continue, it would become an exercise in futility with no utility except waste of judicial time.

If the reasons rendered for acquittal of accused Nos.1, 2 and 4 are noticed, there are no chances holding the petitioner guilty of any offences in the split up charge sheet.

8. The view of mine, in this regard, is fortified by the judgment rendered by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Crl.P.No.3017/2022 disposed on 22.04.2022, has held as follows:

"9. The afore-narrated facts are not in dispute. What lead to registration of the crime against the accused was that while patrolling in the forest the Circle Inspector receives credible information that sandalwood was being smuggled in a car at Holehonnur Road. The car was intercepted at about 12.15 a.m. and due to darkness a person fled and another person who was in the car was arrested. Sandalwood pieces were recovered. The petitioner was arraigned as accused No.1 and one Munavar Pasha as accused No.2. The petitioner along with accused No.2 was arrested and later on enlarged on bail. Since the petitioner was absconding, a split charge sheet was filed against accused No.2 and the trial was conducted. Throughout the trial, the petitioner was missing and an NBW was issued in LPR 6/2021 and the NC: 2024:KHC:23844 Station House Officer arrested the petitioner on 24.02.2022. It is after that a split charge sheet is filed against the petitioner in C.C.No.770/2022.

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NC: 2024:KHC:23844 "The petitioner is the accused in the case and he is shown to be the absconding. Therefore, the case against the petitioner was split up and charge-sheet was laid against other available accused Nos.1 and 3 for committing an offence punishable under Sections 498A and 307 IPC r/w 34 Indian Penal Code, 1860. After the trial, the Sessions Judge acquitted the accused Nos.1 to 3. The petitioner was arrested and proceedings were revived against him in the split charge sheet.... In the instant case also, the full pledged trial was held against accused Nos.1 to 3, in respect of the same offence. In the second round of trial against the petitioner, the evidence to be produced cannot be different from the one that was produced by the prosecution in the earlier case. Therefore, in that view of the matter, the proceeding is quashed."