The Kerala High Court allowed a petition to quash criminal proceedings against the petitioner, a former accused acquitted co-accused who were found unable to prove their guilt. The court held that continuing the trial as the prosecution could not establish guilt.
All further proceedings against the petitioners in CC No. 786 of 2014 were quashed.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V
SATURDAY, THE 6TH DAY OF AUGUST 2016/15TH SRAVANA, 1938
Crl.MC.No. 4169 of 2016
CC 786/2014 OF JUDICIAL FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE COURT-II, ALUVA CRIME NO. 455/2007 OF KALAMASSERY POLICE STATION, ERNAKULAM
PETITIONER(S)/1ST ACCUSED:
RAJESH,
AGED 42, S/O.DHARMAN, KUNJUVEETTIL, NR. AUDITORIUM, MALIPPURAM, ELANKUNNAPUZHA, VYPPIN.
BY ADVS.SRI.S.RENJITH SRI.K.R.PRATHISH
RESPONDENT(S)/RESPONDENTS:
STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM.
BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.AMJAD ALI
THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 06-08-2016, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
msv/
Crl.MC.No. 4169 of 2016
APPENDIX
PETITIONER(S)' ANNEXURES
ANNEXURE A1 CERTIFIED COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME NO. 455/2007 OF KALAMASSERY POLICE STATION ANNEXURE A2 CERTIFIED COPY OF THE CHARGE SHEET IN CRIME NO. 455/20007 IN CC.NO. 786/2014 BEFORE THE JUDICIAL FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE COURT II, ALVUA. ANNEXURE A3 COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 23.08.2014 BEFORE THE JUDICIAL FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE COURT II, ALUVA IN CC.NO. 1204/2008.
RESPONDENT(S)' ANNEXURE: -------------------------
NIL
//TRUE COPY//
P.S.TO JUDGE
Msv/
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN, V., J.
Crl.M.C. No.4169 of 2016
Dated this the 6th day of August, 2016
O R D E R
~~~~~~~~
by the Sub Inspector of Police, Kalamassery, alleging offences punishable under Sections 143, 145, 147, 148, 332 and 353 read with Section 149 of the IPC. The case
was initially taken cognizance of, and numbered as, C.C.No.1204 of 2008 by the Judicial magistrate of First
Class-II, Aluva.
Crl.M.C. No.4169 of 2016 -2-
Magistrate. The case was proceeded with against the other accused and as per Annexure-A3 judgment dated 23.8.2014 the accused Nos. 2 to 15 were acquitted of all charges under Section 248(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
6.I have gone through Annexure-A2 final report and Annexure-A3 judgment of the learned Magistrate. In paragraph Nos. 15 and 16 of Annexure-A3, the learned Magistrate after meticulously analysing the evidence came to the conclusion that there is no evidence to connect the accused with the offence.
Crl.M.C. No.4169 of 2016
-3-
7.In Moosa v. Sub Inspector of Police (2006 (1) KLT
552) a Full Bench of this Court had occasion to hold that though the judgment rendered in the case of a co-accused and the reasoning of the judgment contained therein or appreciation of the evidence therein are not matters to be taken into account for the purpose of granting any relief to quash the proceedings and thus bar the trial itself, a case wherein the very substratum of the case is lost may be an exception to this rule. The same view was followed in the precedents cited supra.
Crl.M.C. No.4169 of 2016
-4-
In the result this petition is allowed and all further proceedings against the petitioners in CC No. 786 of 2014 of the Judicial Magistrate of 1st Class-II, Aluva are quashed.
sd/-
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN, V. JUDGE
Ps/8/8/16
2 issues framed by the court
Whether criminal proceedings against an accused should be quashed where co-accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
If the continued trial against remaining accused would constitute a futile exercise wasting judicial time.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Moosa v. Sub Inspector of Police (2006 (1) KLT 552)Followed¶7
Moosa v. Sub Inspector of Police
Rajesh
State of Kerala
Raja Vijayaraghavan
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
