Darapureddi Sesha Srinivas v. Ramakrishna Mandru

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE T.SUNIL CHOWDARY CRIMINAL PETITION No.13657 of 2015 ORDER:

This petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash the proceedings against the petitioners/accused Nos.1 to 5 in Crime No.382 of 2015 of III Town Police Station, Rajahmundry, registered for the offence punishable under Section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Public Prosecutor representing the State.

A perusal of the record reveals that the petitioners are accused Nos.1 to 5 and the first respondent is the de facto complainant. As per the allegations made in the complaint, on 15.08.2015 the petitioners herein intentionally insulted the first respondent in the name of his caste. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that in view of union disputes, the first respondent foisted a false case against the petitioners with an ulterior motive. Whether the petitioners have committed the alleged offence or not will come to light during the course of investigation only. It is needless to say that the court has to take into consideration the allegations made in the complaint while exercising inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C., in order to quash the criminal proceedings at the initial stage of investigation.

The court is not justified in embarking upon an enquiry to ascertain the truthfulness, genuineness or otherwise of the allegations made in the complaint. It is a settled principle of law that the inherent power should not be exercised to stifle a legitimate investigation.

abuse of process of court thereby to secure the ends of justice. I have carefully perused the material available on record in order to ascertain whether the allegations made in the complaint are patently absurd and inherently improbable thereby to quash the proceedings. The material available on record is prima facie sufficient to investigate into the matter in order to ascertain the truthfulness or otherwise of the allegations made in the complaint. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and also the principle enunciated in R.P.KAPOOR v. STATE OF PUNJAB, STATE OF HARYANA v. BHAJAN LAL, V.Y.JOSE V STATE OF GURAJAT AND TEEJA DEVI v. STATE OF RAJASTHAN, I am of the considered view that this is not a fit case to quash the criminal proceedings at the threshold. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the concerned Station House Officer may be directed not to arrest the petitioners till completion of investigation.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the Station House Officer, III Town Police Station, Rajahmundry, is hereby directed not to arrest the petitioners/accused Nos.1 to 5 in Crime No.382 of 2015 till completion of investigation.

With the above direction, the Criminal Petition is dismissed. Consequently, Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed.

_____________________ T.SUNIL CHOWDARY, J Date:22.12.2015 Rns