Babi Devi @ Baby Kumari vs State Of Jharkhand

Anil Kumar Choudhary, J

Heard the parties.

This Criminal Miscellaneous Petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with the prayer to quash the Complaint Case No. 673 of 2020 including the cognizance order dated 15.12.2022 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Deoghar and the entire criminal proceedings in connection with Complaint Case No. 673 of 2020 against the petitioners.

The allegation against the petitioners is that the petitioners were members of an unlawful assembly and indulged in rioting by using force and violence in prosecution of common object of such assembly and the petitioner Nos. 4, 5 and 6 caused hurt to the complainant, committed theft of jewelleries from the house of the complainant, committed mischief by vandalizing the house of the complainant by diminishing the value of the articles and intentionally insulted the complainant to provoke him to commit breach of peace or any offence punishable in law. On the basis of the Complaint, the statement on solemn affirmation of the complainant and the statement of the inquiry witnesses, the learned Judicial Magistrate-1st Class, Deoghar vide order dated 15.12.2022 in Complaint Case No. 673 of 2020, passed the summoning order.

Learned counsel for the petitioners relies upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Kahkashan Kausar @ Sonam & Others vs. State of Bihar & Others reported in (2022) 6 SCC 599 and submits therein in the facts of that case where there was a second F.I.R. and the allegations made in the complaint that all the accused persons harassed the complainant mentally and threatened her of terminating her pregnancy, in the facts of that case, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India quashed the F.I.R. of that case. Learned counsel for the petitioners next submits that the allegations against the petitioners are false and are general and omnibus in nature. There is no specific allegation against the petitioners that the petitioner No.1 and the wife of the complainant and other petitioners are relatives of the petitioner No.1 and the petitioner No.1 has instituted the case involving the offence punishable under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code against the complainant and also instituted a case for maintenance. Hence, this false case has been foisted against the petitioners for wreaking vengeance. It is then submitted that the opposite party No.2 has been convicted in C.P. Case No. 2077 of 2013 instituted by the petitioner No.1 and has been sentenced and the appeal has been dismissed with modification in sentence but the opposite party No.2 has been granted bail in Cr. Revision No. 1574 of 2018 which is pending before this Court. Hence, it is submitted that the prayer as prayed for in this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition be allowed.

Learned Addl.P.P. appearing for the State and the learned senior counsel for the opposite party No.2 on the other hand vehemently oppose the prayer of the petitioners made in this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition and submit that undisputedly, the petitioners were convicted in C.P. Case No. 2077 of 2013 on 23.04.2018; so, that could not be a reason for institution of a false case more than two years after such conviction. It is next submitted that there is direct and specific allegation against the petitioners of being members of an unlawful assembly in prosecution of common object of such assembly, having used force and violence by assaulting the complainant causing hurt to him, committing theft of the jewelleries and money, causing mischief by vandalizing the house of the complainant and diminishing the value of the articles and intentionally insulting him to provoke the complainant to commit breach of peace or any other offence. Hence, it is submitted that this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition, being without any merit, be dismissed.

Having heard the rival submissions made at the Bar and after carefully going through the materials available in the record, it is pertinent to mention here that there is direct and specific allegations against the petitioners of being members of an unlawful assembly, used force and violence in prosecution of the common object of the assembly by causing hurt to the complainant, committing theft of jewelleries and cash, committing mischief by vandalizing the articles of the house of the complainant and diminishing the value thereof and intentionally insulting the complainant provoking him to commit breach of peace or any other offence.

So far as the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India relied upon by the petitioners in the case of Kahkashan Kausar @ Sonam & Others vs. State of Bihar & Others (supra) is concerned, the facts of that case is entirely different from the facts of this case, as there is direct and specific allegations against the petitioners of being members of an unlawful assembly in prosecution of common object of the assembly, committed rioting and other offences as already indicated above in the foregoing paragraph of this judgment but the only contention of the petitioners is that the allegations against the petitioners are false; which is a defence certainly the petitioners can take during the trial of the case but certainly, the same is not a ground to quash the entire criminal proceeding.

It is a settled principle of law that the High Court in exercise of its power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot consider the defence of the accused person of the case or the veracity of the evidence put forth by the accused as that would be the job of the trial court as has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Awadh Kishore Gupta & Others reported in 2004 2 Supreme 501.

It is also a settled principle of law that no mini trial can be conducted by the High Court in exercise of its power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of State of Uttar Pradesh & Another vs. Akhil Sharda & Others reported in 2022 LiveLaw SC 594.

Under such circumstances, keeping in view the fact that if the entire allegations against the petitioners are considered to be true in their entirety, then, the offences in respect of which the prima facie case has been found by the learned Judicial Magistrate-1st Class, Deoghar is, in fact, made out against the petitioners; this Court is of the considered view that this is not a fit case where the entire criminal proceedings in connection with the Complaint Case No. 673 of 2020 including the cognizance order dated 15.12.2022 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate-1st Class, Deoghar as well as the entire criminal proceeding of Complaint Case No. 673 of 2020, as prayed for by the petitioners in this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition is to be quashed and set aside at this nascent stage, in exercise of its power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Accordingly, this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition, being without any merit, is dismissed.