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2017 (8) TMI 1636

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..... harassed by vexatious prosecution due to personal vendetta or retaliation against any person. It is discernible from the records that the learned Sessions Judge keeping the settled principle of law in mind instructed the Chief Judicial Magistrate in the Revision Petition, to direct the investigating officer to have a full-fledged investigation by the police as persons who are not parties to the proceedings are also suspected to be involved in the alleged impersonation and fraud practiced upon the Court and that the report of the police can be made use of, as a material for considering whether a complaint has to be filed and what all are the offences committed - It is well settled that the inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C has to be exercised sparingly and carefully with caution to avoid abuse of the process of the Court and prevent miscarriage of justice and to secure the ends of justice. Here, the alleged offences are of exceptional nature and gravity. Who all are the culprits involved in the alleged crime and their participation in committing the alleged offences have to be unearthed and booked for the same. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate has to deal .....

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..... 4 were employed in ship and they were not available in the locality to appear before the Court for several months. So also the accused 2 and 4 were also not there as they were working in Gulf. While so the complainant, an injured got information from a police official who came to meet him that one accused told him that the case against the accused ended in acquittal. So he immediately made an enquiry and to his surprise it was realized that the accused produced some persons before the Court by impersonating them as the injured and the witnesses and managed to get an acquittal. It was also learnt that they misled the Court by making false submission that the case was compromised and settled between the parties. It was also learnt that this petitioner who is an injured was falsely reported as not available in station to appear before the Court to give evidence. Like that, for the accused who were not available in the locality to appear before the Court, someone else had appeared before the Court as the accused and thus cheated the Court. Actually, the injured never appeared before the Court and they were not examined as witnesses but false representations were made before the Court t .....

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..... 2004. In the event of default of any of the accused to appear and the failure of the sureties to cause their prosecution, without sufficient cause, on the date specified above, the Magistrate shall forthwith take coercive steps to secure the presence of such accused, apart from proceeding against them and the sureties under Section 446 Cr.P.C. 3. Thereafter the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate forwarded the complaint filed under Section 340 Cr.P.C by the 1st respondent to the police for a full-fledged investigation in compliance of the direction in the aforesaid revisions. The order under challenge reads as follows: As per the direction of the Sessions Court in Crl.R.P. Nos. 34/2004 and 36/2004, I forward this complaint to SHO, Kazaragod directing to conduct a full fledged investigation and report. 4. Heard Sri. T.G. Rajendran, the learned counsel for the petitioner as well Sri. Suresh Babu Thomas, the learned Additional Director General of Prosecution. 5. Assailing the impugned order, the learned counsel for the petitioner, firstly submits that the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate has completely deviated from the procedure contemplated under Section 340 Cr.P.C re .....

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..... f sub-section (4) of Section 195. (3) A complaint made under this section shall be signed,-- (a) where the Court making the complaint is a High Court, by such officer of the Court as the Court may appoint; (b) in any other case, by the presiding officer of the Court. (4) In this section, Court has the same meaning as in Section 195. 7. Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure reads as: 195. Prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of public servants, for offences against public justice and for offences relating to documents given in evidence.-- (1) No Court shall take cognizance-- (a) (i) of any offence punishable under Sections 172 to 188 (both inclusive) of the Indian Penal Code, (45 of 1860) or (ii) of any abetment of, or attempt to commit, such offence, or (iii) of any criminal conspiracy to commit such offence, except on the complaint in writing of the public servant concerned or of some other public servant to whom he is administratively subordinate; (b) (i) of any offence punishable under any of the following sections of the Indian Penal Code, (45 of 1860) namely, Sections 193 to 196 (both inclusive), 199, 200, 205 to 211 ( .....

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..... 196, 205 and 120B read with 149 of IPC are alleged to have been committed in a proceedings in a Court of law affecting the administration of justice. Section 340 of the Code provides the procedure for offences enumerated in Section 195(1)(b)(i) of the Code. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, a complaint which is filed under Section 340 alleging commission of offences under Section 193, 196, 205 of the IPC can be proceeded only as per the procedure laid down in Section 340 of the Code and non-compliance would vitiate the prosecution. Of-course the provisions under Section 195 and Section 340 of the Code are to protect persons from needlessly harassed by vexatious prosecution due to personal vendetta or retaliation against any person. To fortify the argument the learned counsel for the petitioner relies on the proposition in Advocate N.B. Chandramohan v. State of Kerala 2012(3)KHC 526 : 2012(4)KLTSN 15 that the direction of the Magistrate without conducting an enquiry, to the police to register a case and investigate is illegal. It is observed in paragraph 3 of the said decision as follows: 3. Annexure.-- A complaint filed by the Sheristadar of the Court impute .....

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..... izable offence, in accordance with Chapter XII of the Code even if the offence is alleged to have been committed in, or in relation to, any proceeding in Court. In other words, the statutory power of the Police to investigate under the Code is not in any way controlled or circumscribed by Section 195 Cr.P.C. it is of course true that upon the charge-sheet (challan), if any, filed on completion of the investigation into such an offence the Court would not be competent to take cognizance thereof in view of the embargo of Section 195(1)(b) Cr.P.C., but nothing therein deters the Court from filing a complaint for the offence on the basis of the F.I.R. (filed by the aggrieved private party) and the materials collected during investigation, provided it forms the requisite opinion and follows the procedure laid down in Section 340 Cr.P.C. Subsequently agreeing with Raj Singh's case (supra) in Narayanadas v. State of Karnataka 2003 KHC 1760 : AIR 2004 SC 555 : (2003) 11 SCC 251 : 2004 SCC (Cri) 118 : 2004 CriLJ 822 the Apex Court held as follows: Sections 195 and 340 do not control or circumscribe the power of the police to investigate, under the Criminal Procedure Code. Once .....

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