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TMI Blog2001 (3) TMI 1025X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... so demonstrates the ignoring of the correct position of law applicable on the point and catena of judgments pronounced by this Court on the subject. The facts of the case are that in an occurrence which took place on 6.9.1991, Rajesh Kumar, the son of the appellant was beaten to death by the accused persons who were alleged to have attacked him with weapons like Hockey Sticks, Lathis and Iron Chain of Bullet Motorcycle. The accused persons are stated to have been arrested after some days and their application for bail was dismissed by the trial court on 23rd December, 1991. The Additional Sessions Judge, being the trial court framed charges against all the accused persons on 16.7.1992 against which a petition was filed in the High Court. It is not clear but it is admitted that meanwhile the accused were released on bail by the High Court. The Criminal Revision No.97 of 1992 filed by the respondents was disposed of by the High Court after four years by quashing charges framed with direction to the trial court to pass an order delineating reasons in sufficient detail to lend assurance to the accused, the public and the court that sufficient judicial thought is at its back . Again ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed was subjected to the beating by the aforesaid accused persons in the month of July, 1991 regarding which a report was lodged with the police. After knowing about the beating of his son on the day of occurrence, the appellant is stated to have rushed to the spot where her son told that accused Balraj had given a Hockey blow on his head, accused Narender had given beating with chain of Bullet Motorcycle and accused Vijay assaulted him with a lathi on the instigation of other accused persons. Statement of one Ashok Kumar, under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the Code ), who claimed to be an eye-witness, was recorded by the police on 7.9.1991 wherein he had supported what the appellant had stated about the infliction of injuries on her son. The accused persons and the deceased were arrested by the Police under Sections 107/151 of the Code. As he was beaten by the accused persons, the deceased complained of pain on all parts of his body which necessitated his admission in Deen Dayal Upadyay Hospital wherefrom he was referred to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he died at about 5 a.m. on 7.9.1991. After investigation, the final report was s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ocks causing avoidable delays. If a Magistrate is to write detailed orders at different stages merely because the counsel would address arguments at all stages, the snail-paced progress of proceedings in trial courts would further be slowed down. We are coming across interlocutory orders of Magistrates and Sessions Judges running into several pages. We can appreciate if such a detailed order has been passed for culminating the proceedings before them. But it is quite unnecessary to write detailed orders at this stage, such as issuing process, remanding the accused to custody, framing of charges, passing over to next stages in the trial. It is a salutary guideline that when orders rejecting or granting bail are passed, the court should avoid expressing one way or the other on contentious issues, except in cases such as those falling within Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 . At the stage of passing the order in terms of Section 227 of the Code, the Court has merely to peruse the evidence in order to find out whether or not there is a sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. If upon consideration, the court is satisfied that a prim ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iction. Strong suspicion against the accused, if the matter remains in the region of suspicion, cannot take the place of proof of his guilt at the conclusion of the trial. But at the initial stage if there is a strong suspicion which leads the court to think that there is ground for presuming that the accused has committed an offence then it is not open to the court to say that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. The presumption of the guilt of the accused which is to be drawn at the initial stage is not in the sense of the law governing the trial of criminal cases in France where the accused is presumed to be guilty unless the contrary is proved. But it is only for the purpose of deciding prima facie whether the court should proceed with the trial or not. If the evidence which the Prosecutor proposes to adduce to prove the guilt of the accused even if fully accepted before it is challenged in cross-examination or rebutted by the defence, if any, cannot show that the accused committed the offence, there there will be no sufficient ground for proceeding with the trial. An exhaustive list of the circumstances to indicate as to what will lead to one concl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... plates the stage after the case survives the stage envisaged in the former section. When the court is of opinion that there is ground to presume that the accused has committed an offence the procedure laid down therein has to be adopted. When those two sections are put in juxtaposition with each other the test to be adopted becomes discernible: Is there sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused? It is axiomatic that the standard of proof normally adhered to at the final stage is not to be applied at the stage where the scope of consideration is where there is sufficient ground for proceeding . The trial court, in the instant case, rightly held that merely on account of the observations and the opinion incorporated in the post- mortem report, the prosecution could not be deprived of its right to prove that accused were guilty of the offence for which the final report had been filed against them. There was no ground for the High Court to interfere with the well reasoned order of the trial court by passing a cryptic and telegraphic order which is impugned in this appeal. It is not safe, at this stage, to deprive the prosecution in proving its case on the basis of the di ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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