The High Court declined to quash criminal proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C., holding that disputed facts and testimonial worth of evidence fall within the trial court's domain, and the case did not fit categories justifying quashing.
Application for quashing of proceedings refused; interim stay on coercive action granted for one month.
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Court No. - 76
Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 13663 of 2015
Applicant :- Anil Singh @ Anni Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Shashank Dwivedi Counsel for Opposite Party :- Govt. Advocate,Shive Datta Yadav
Hon'ble Mrs. Manju Rani Chauhan,J.
Heard learned counsel for the applicant and the learned A.G.A. for the State.
This application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed to quash the entire proceedings of Complaint Case No.3338/14, under Sections 452, 504, 506, 323, 427 I.P.C., Police Station Kohna, District Kanpur Nagar (Shashi Kant Vs. Anil Pratap), pending in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Ist, Kanpur Nagar.
Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the present criminal proceedings initiated by opposite party no.2 are an after thought, as such the same are not only malicious but also amount to an abuse of the process of the Court.
Per contra, learned A.G.A. submits that from perusal of the records, prima facie, it can not be said at this stage that no offence has been committed by the applicant.
I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the records of the present application.
All the contentions raised by the applicant's counsel relate to disputed questions of fact. The court has also been called upon to adjudge the testimonial worth of prosecution evidence and evaluate the same on the basis of various intricacies of factual details which have been touched upon by learned counsel. The veracity and credibility of material furnished on behalf of the prosecution has been questioned and false implication has been pleaded.
The law regarding sufficiency of material which may justify the summoning of accused and also the court's decision to proceed against him in a given case is well settled. The court has to eschew itself from embarking upon a roving enquiry into the last details of the case. It is also not advisable to adjudge whether the case shall ultimately end in conviction or not. Only a prima facie satisfaction of the court about the existence of
sufficient ground to proceed in the matter is required.
Through a catena of decisions given by Hon'ble Apex Court this legal aspect has been expatiated upon at length and the law that has evolved over a period of several decades is too well settled. The cases of (1) Chandra Deo Singh Vs. Prokash Chandra Bose AIR 1963 SC 1430 , (2) Vadilal Panchal Vs. Dattatraya Dulaji Ghadigaonker AIR 1960 SC 1113 and (3) Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa Konjalgi 1976 3 SCC 736 may be usefully referred to in this regard.
The Apex Court decisions given in the case of R.P. Kapur Vs. State of Punjab AIR 1960 SC 866 and in the case of State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal 1992 SCC(Cr.) 426 have also recognized certain categories by way of illustration which may justify the quashing of a complaint or charge sheet. Some of them are akin to the illustrative examples given in the above referred case of Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna .S. Dauki, District AgraShivalingappa Konjalgi 1976 3 SCC 736 . The cases where the allegations made against the accused or the evidence collected by the Investigating Officer do not constitute any offence or where the allegations are absurd or extremely improbable impossible to believe or where prosecution is legally barred or where criminal proceeding is malicious and malafide instituted with ulterior motive of grudge and vengeance alone may be the fit cases for the High Court in which the criminal proceedings may be quashed. Hon'ble Apex Court in Bhajan Lal's case has recognized certain categories in which Section-482 of Cr.P.C. or Article-226 of the Constitution may be successfully invoked.
Illumined by the case law referred to herein above, this Court has adverted to the entire record of the case.
The submissions made by the applicant's counsel call for adjudication on pure questions of fact which may be adequately adjudicated upon only by the trial court and while doing so even the submissions made on points of law can also be more appropriately gone into by the trial court in this case. This Court does not deem it proper, and therefore cannot be persuaded to have a pre-trial before the actual trial begins. A threadbare discussion of various facts and circumstances, as they emerge from the allegations made against the accused, is being purposely avoided by the Court for the reason, lest the same might cause any prejudice to either side during trial. But it shall suffice to observe that the perusal of the complaint, and also the material available on record make out a prima facie case against the accused at this stage and there appear to be sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. I do not find any
justification to quash the complaint or the summoning order or the proceedings against the applicant arising out of them as the case does not fall in any of the categories recognized by the Apex Court which may justify their quashing.
The prayer for quashing the same is refused as I do not see any abuse of the Court's process either.
However, it is provided that if the bail has not been obtained as yet, the applicant may appear before the court below and apply for bail within one month from today. The court below shall make an endeavour to decide the bail application of the applicants in the light of the judgement of this court in the case of Brahm Singh and Ors. Vs. State of U.P. and Others, reported in 2016 (7) ADJ 151 .
As an interim measure, it is provided that for a period of one month from today or till the applicant appears before the court below, whichever is earlier, no coercive action shall be taken against the applicant.
With the above observations, this application stands disposed off .
Order Date :- 22.1.2020 Anand Sri./-
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the criminal proceedings under Sections 452, 504, 506, 323, 427 IPC should be quashed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. as an abuse of process of court.
Whether the allegations constitute an offence warranting criminal proceedings or are merely an afterthought.
Whether the applicant is entitled to interim relief from coercive actions pending bail decision.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Chandra Deo Singh Vs. Prokash Chandra BoseReferred¶13
Chandra Deo Singh Vs. Prokash Chandra Bose AIR 1963 SC 1430 · Who else cites this
Vadilal Panchal Vs. Dattatraya Dulaji GhadigaonkerReferred¶13
Vadilal Panchal Vs. Dattatraya Dulaji Ghadigaonker AIR 1960 SC 1113 · Who else cites this
Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa KonjalgiReferred¶13
Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa Konjalgi 1976 3 SCC 736 · Who else cites this
R.P. Kapur Vs. State of PunjabReferred¶14
R.P. Kapur Vs. State of Punjab AIR 1960 SC 866 · Who else cites this
State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan LalReferred¶14
State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal 1992 SCC(Cr.) 426 · Who else cites this
Brahm Singh and Ors. Vs. State of U.P. and OthersReferred¶19
Brahm Singh and Ors. Vs. State of U.P. and Others, reported in 2016 (7) ADJ 151
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Anil Singh @ Anni
State of U.P.
Manju Rani Chauhan
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
