Gagandeep Singh vs Senior Superintendent Of Police Udham Singh Nagar And Others

Sharad Kumar Sharma, J

The petitioner is an accused for the commission of offences under Sections 307, 504 and 506 of IPC, registered at Police Station Rudrapur, District Udham Singh Nagar by way of an FIR No. 488 of 2019. As per the set of allegations, narrated in the FIR, it has reflected from the complainant, and also as per the story, as placed by the complainant/respondent No. 3 that the assailants as well as the victim, they were indulged in students' union election and on account of that, they had been certain enmity amongst themselves.

It is the case of complainant that when the victim was sitting in his shop, then few persons entered into the shop by force and they had assailed upon the victim causing injuries in person upon him. It is also a case in the FIR that during the course of making an assault on the victim by iron rods and other weapons, there had also been an incident of firing though it luckily didn't hit the victim, who was assaulted with by the accused persons.

It is the case of the complainant/respondent No. 3 that later on the injured was taken to the Futela Hospital and medical examination was conducted on him and consequent thereto the report has been submitted, wherein as many as 8 injuries were shown to have been suffered by victim. The petitioner accused before this Court, though without a pleading has tried to carve out the case by way of exception that the injuries, which has been reported to have been caused on victim in the medical report are not as a consequence of the incident which has been complained of in the FIR, but rather it was as a consequence of the accident which the victim allegedly suffered, though the said plea of accident as argued is not a pleading which has been pleaded in the writ petition, hence, this Court is not in a position to accept it and appreciate the writ petition from that view point.

He has further submitted and carved out an exception that in the medical report which has been submitted, it has been pointed out that the victim was found to be in an intoxicated stage having consumed alcohol. Even if the theory the consumption of an alcohol by the victim is accepted that itself doesn't mean that the assailants get a license or permission to assault a person in contravention to the provisions of law as prevailing. Looking to the nature of injuries, as given in the medical report dated 13.09.2019, coupled with the fact that prima facie the allegations levelled in the FIR, that there was a firing also, may be that it has not hit the victim, but that in itself is not absolve the petitioner, for the purposes of prima facie establishing the case for invoking the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. For the purposes of bringing an accused within the ambit of commission of offence under Section 307 IPC, the firing itself is sufficient though the said fact is yet to be established on the conduct and conclusion of trial by the Court below.

The learned counsel for the petitioner has made reference to the order of the coordinate Bench of this Court, as rendered in WPCRL No. 1762 of 2019, where arising out of the same offence, as registered by way of an FIR, as quoted above, the coordinate Bench of this Court has called upon for medical report in order to substantiate with regards to the set of allegation levelled in the FIR. I am of the view that this Court is not bound by the interim directions rendered by the coordinate Bench of this Court, as it cannot be taken as to be a binding precedent for the reason being that it is not an adjudication on merits which has been made by the coordinate Bench of this Court, on its own merits of the writ. The order dated 13.09.2019 is only for the purposes of procurement of the medical report in order to substantiate the set of allegations levelled in the FIR, which will have no bearing while considering the present criminal writ petition on its own merits.

Having gone through the contents of the FIR and the set of allegations levelled, particularly, in relation to the offence committed under Sections 307, 504 and 506 of IPC, this Court is of the view that the set of allegations, prima facie brings the offence to be within the ambit of Section 307 of IPC and hence, this Court is not inclined to interfere in the present criminal writ petition and coupled with the fact that certain arguments, which has been extended since not being part of the pleadings, this Court cannot appreciate it in the absence of pleading, that too without prior notice to the Government Advocate.

Consequently, this Court doesn't find any merits in the writ petition, hence, the writ petition (criminal), fails and accordingly, the same is dismissed. However, it is left open to the petitioner to file appropriate bail application before the competent Court, the same would be considered on its own merits expeditiously, without being influenced by any of the observations which is made in today's judgement, which is only tentative in nature for invocation of writ jurisdiction.