9911796707
TMI Blog2004 (5) TMI 573X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ege of perusing the judgment proposed by my learned brother Hon ble Mr. Justice G.P. Mathur. I respectfully agree with the opinion expressed by him. However, I would like to add the following few lines. Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with police officer s power to require attendance of witnesses. This Section aims at securing the attendance of persons who would supply the necessary information in respect of the commission of an offence and would be examined as witnesses in the inquiry or trial therefor. This Section applies only to the cases of persons who appear to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case, i.e. the witnesses or possible witnesses only. An order under this Section cannot be made requiring the at ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and not the accused. The High Court has also committed a grave error in giving a finding as to the confession and recovery of a nylon rope alleged to have been used in the commission of murder, thereby stifling/foreclosing the investigation into an offence of murder even before a final report in the case as contemplated under Section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C. is filed. The High Court, in the present case, while dealing with the revision has not only set aside the order granting police custody, but has held that the consequent confession and the alleged recovery have no evidentiary value in the case. In other words, what has got to be decided in a full-fledged trial, the High Court merely on the pleadings of the parties has given a finding th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the Cr.P.C. In fact, the learned Judge has erred in expanding the scope of Section 160 Cr.P.C. to the accused as well, which might lead to hardship to an investigating agency. If the directions of the learned single Judge is accepted, no purposeful investigation into any serious offence involving women accused could be conducted successfully. Above all, the learned Judge has committed a grave error in awarding a compensation of ₹ 1 lakh on the ground that the police personnel committed acts of obscene violation, teasing the respondent herein. The learned Judge has relied upon only on the basis of the affidavit filed in the case for coming to the conclusion and also on the basis of the assumption that the respondent was not involv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts must be judicial in nature, and should not normally depart from sobriety, moderation and reserve, as observed by this Court in The State of Uttar Pradesh vs. Mohd. Naim AIR 1964 SC 703. It is also very apt to quote para 13 of the judgment in A.M. Mathur vs. Pramod Kumar Gupta AIR 1990 SC 1737 which reads thus: Judicial restraint and discipline are as necessary to the orderly administration of justice as they are to the effectiveness of the army. The duty of restraint, this humility of function should be a constant theme of our Judges. This quality in decision making is as much necessary for Judges to command respect as to protect the independence of the judiciary. Judicial restraint in this regard might better be called judicial res ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... esumption of innocence of an accused gets jeopardized; and the structural principle of not guilty till proved guilty gets destroyed, even though all sane elements have always understood that such views are tentative and not final, so as to affect the merit of the matter. Here, the appellant has been caught and exposed to a certain adverse comment and action solely because in reasoning he had disclosed his mind while granting bail. This may have been avoidable on his part, but in terms not such a glaring mistake or impropriety so as to visit the remarks that the High Court has chosen to pass on him as well as to initiate action against him, as proposed. Whenever any such intolerable error is detected by or pointed out to a superior court, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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