Abid and Another vs State of U.P. and Another

S.C. Agarwal, J.—Heard learned Counsel for the applicants, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the material available on record.

No notice is issued to private opposite party in view of the order proposed to be passed today, however, liberty is reserved for private opposite party to apply for variation or modification of this order if he feels so aggrieved.

This Application u/s 482 Code of Criminal Procedure has been filed with a prayer to quash the charge sheet as well as entire proceedings of criminal case No. 3782 of 2007 arising out of case crime No. 78 of 2003 under Sections 308, 324, 323, 504, 506 IPC, P.S. Kotwali, District Meerut pending in the Court of II Addl. Civil Judge (Jr. Div.), Meerut.

Learned Counsel for the applicants submitted that the co-accused namely Malwa @ Mushtaq and Kalia @ Shahid have been acquitted in S.T. No. 163 of 2007 by judgment and order dated 23.2.2008 passed by Sessions Judge, Meerut and, therefore, no conviction of the applicants is possible on the same evidence and proceedings be quashed. It was further submitted that all the witnesses including the injured have turned hostile.

The witnesses were examined in the case against co-accused named above. Acquittal of co-accused is not a sufficient ground to quash the charge sheet or the proceedings against the applicants. Therefore, prayer for quashing the same is refused.

However, in view of the fact that during the trial of the co-accused, all the witnesses of fact and the injured have turned hostile and have not supported the prosecution case and the co-accused have been acquitted, the application u/s 482 Code of Criminal Procedure is disposed of with a direction that if the applicants surrender before the Magistrate concerned within a period of three weeks from today and apply for bail, their prayer for bail be considered by the courts below on the same day keeping in view a Full Bench decision of this Court in the case of Amrawati and Anr. v. State of U.P. 2004 (57) ALR 290 as affirmed by Hon''ble Apex Court in Lal Kamlendra Pratap Singh v. State of U.P. 2009 (3) ADJ 322 .

If disposal of the bail on the same day is not possible for any reason, the applicants shall be released on interim bail till the disposal of their main bail application.

For a period of three weeks, no coercive process shall be issued against the applicants.