Annem Shiva Shankar Reddy v. The State Of Andhra Pradesh

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE T.SUNIL CHOWDARY CRIMINAL PETITION No.4197 of 2017 ORDER:

This petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash the proceedings against the petitioner/ accused in Crime No.55 of 2017 on the file of the Station House Officer, Bandi-Atmakur Police Station, Kurnool District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 447 I.P.C and 3(1)(r)(S)(f) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act 2015. 2.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the second respondent foisted a false case against the petitioner. He further submitted that the allegations made in the complaint do not constitute any offence. Per contra, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submitted that the allegations made in the complaint prima facie constitute the offence alleged to have been committed by the petitioner, therefore, it is not a fit case to quash the proceedings at the stage.

3.

A perusal of the record reveals that the petitioner is the sole accused and the second respondent is the de facto complainant. As per the allegations made in the complaint, the second respondent owned an extent of Ac.1.56 cents in Survey No.544 of Kadamala Kalwa village. As per the allegations made in the complaint, on 27.04.2017, the petitioner trespassed into the land of the second respondent and insulted him in the name of his caste.

4.

While exercising the inherent power under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the Court has to take into consideration the allegations made in the complaint only. The Court is not justified in embarking upon an enquiry as to probability, reliability or genuineness of the allegations made in the complaint at the initial stage of investigation. Whether the petitioner committed the alleged offence or not will come to light during the course of investigation. The material placed before the Court is prima facie sufficient to investigate into the matter in order to ascertain the truthfulness or otherwise of the allegations made in the complaint. 5.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and also the principle enunciated in R.P.Kapoor v. State of Punjab1, State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal2, V.Y.Jose v. State of Gurajat 3 and Teeja Devi v. State of Rajasthan4, I am of the considered view that it is not a fit case to quash the criminal proceedings at the threshold.

6.

Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case and also the principle enunciated by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar5, the Station House Officer, BandiAtmakuru Police Station, Kurnool District, is hereby directed to follow the procedure as contemplated under Section 41A Cr.P.C. in Crime No.55 of 2017 so far as the petitioner/ accused is concerned. 1 AIR 1960 SC 866 2 AIR 1992 SC 604 3 (2009) 3 SCC 78 4 2015 (1) ACR 564 (SC) 5 2014 (8) SCALE 250

7.

With the above direction, the Criminal Petition is disposed of.

8.

Consequently, Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed.

_____________________ T.SUNIL CHOWDARY, J Date: 09.06.2017 Rns