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TMI Blog2003 (11) TMI 584X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d the petition to quash the investigation and the proceedings on the ground that while investigating into the alleged acquisition of disproportionate assets by present respondent no. 1 Awadh Kishore Gupta (petitioner no.1 before the High Court and described as accused hereinafter), the income of the other respondents were not taken note of. Several documents were annexed to the petition to contend that there was no undisclosed income of and/or acquisition of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income by the respondent No. 1 who at the relevant time was working as Executive Engineer in the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Before the High Court his wife was the petitioner no. 2; and his sons and daughter were petitioner nos. 3 to 6 respectively and petitioner no.7 was his father. It was their basic stand that the proceedings were continuing without grant of proper opportunity to them to explain their income and there was non-compliance with the requirements of the Act. The basic allegation against the accused was that he had acquired property beyond his known source of income thereby rendering him punishable under Section 13(1)(e) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d relying on documents and materials which were yet to be tested, the High Court has quashed the investigation and the proceedings. In response, learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the investigation and further proceedings would have been an exercise in futility. When the materials considered by the High Court are taken into account, nothing more remains to be done and without first granting an opportunity to explain, the investigating agency could not have alleged commission of offence punishable under Section 13(1)(e) of the Act. The judgment, according to learned counsel, does not warrant interference. Section 13 deals with various situations when a public servant can be said to have committed criminal misconduct. Clause (e) of sub-section (1) of the Section is pressed into service against the accused. The same is applicable when the public servant or any person on his behalf, is in possession or has, at any time during the period of his office, been in possession, for which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income. Clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 13 corresponds ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... secretions by persons prima facie would not be receipt from the known sources of income of a public servant. The legislature has advisedly used the expression satisfactorily account . The emphasis must be on the word satisfactorily and the legislature has, thus, deliberately cast a burden on the accused not only to offer a plausible explanation as to how he came by his large wealth, but also to satisfy the Court that his explanation was worthy of acceptance. Exercise of power under Section 482 of the Code in a case of this nature is the exception and not the rule. The section does not confer any new powers on the High Court. It only saves the inherent power which the Court possessed before the enactment of the Code. It envisages three circumstances under which the inherent jurisdiction may be exercised, namely, (i) to give effect to an order under the Code, (ii) to prevent abuse of the process of court, and (iii) to otherwise secure the ends of justice. It is neither possible nor desirable to lay down any inflexible rule which would govern the exercise of inherent jurisdiction. No legislative enactment dealing with procedure can provide for all cases that may possibly a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stitute the offence alleged; (iii)where the allegations constitute an offence, but there is no legal evidence adduced or the evidence adduced clearly or manifestly fails to prove the charge. In dealing with the last case, it is important to bear in mind the distinction between a case where there is no legal evidence or where there is evidence which is clearly inconsistent with the accusations made, and a case where there is legal evidence which, on appreciation, may or may not support the accusations. When exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code, the High Court would not ordinarily embark upon an enquiry whether the evidence in question is reliable or not or whether on a reasonable appreciation of it accusation would not be sustained. That is the function of the trial Judge. Judicial process no doubt should not be an instrument of oppression, or, needless harassment. Court should be circumspect and judicious in exercising discretion and should take all relevant facts and circumstances into consideration before issuing process, lest it would be an instrument in the hands of a private complainant to unleash vendetta to harass any person needlessly. At the same tim ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge. As noted above, the powers possessed by the High Court under Section 482 of the Code are very wide and the very plenitude of the power requires great caution in its exercise. Court must be careful to see that its decision in exercise of this power is based on sound principles. The inherent power should not be exercised to stifle a legitimate prosecution. High Court being the highest Court of a State should normally refrain from giving a prima facie decision in a case where the entire facts are incomplete and hazy, more so when the evidence has not been collected and produced before the Court and the issues involved, whether factual or legal, are of magnitude and cannot be seen in their true perspective without sufficient material. Of course, no hard and fast rule can be laid down in regard to cases in which the High Court will exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction of quashing the proceeding at any stage. (See : The Janata Dal etc. v. H.S. Chowdhary and others, etc. (AIR 1993 SC 892), Dr. Raghubir Saran v. State of Bihar an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... others AIR 1999 SC 1216). These aspects were also highlighted in State of Karnataka v. M. Devendrappa and another (2002 (3) SCC 89). It is to be noted that the investigation was not complete and at that stage it was impermissible for the High Court to look into materials, the acceptability of which is essentially a matter for trial. While exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code, it is not permissible for the Court to act as if it was a trial Judge. Even when charge is framed at that stage, the Court has to only prima facie be satisfied about existence of sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. For that limited purpose, the Court can evaluate material and documents on records but it cannot appreciate evidence. The Court is not required to appreciate evidence to conclude whether the materials produced are sufficient or not for convicting the accused. In Chand Dhawan (Smt.) v. Jawahar Lal and Ors. (1992 (3) SCC 317), it was observed that when the materials relied upon by a party are required to be proved, no inference can be drawn on the basis of those materials to conclude the complaint to be unacceptable. The Court should not act on annexures to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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