HEAD CONSTABLE RAJ KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These special-leave petitions arise from a common interim order dtd. 20/5/2019 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court disposing of four connected proceedings, CRM M-12486 of 2018, CRM M-5170 of 2018, CRR 1411 of 2018 and CRM M-44860 of 2018, arising from the same criminal complaint and centred on the death of one Mukhjit Singh @ Mukha in an alleged police encounter at Verka, District Amritsar, on 16/6/2015.

(2.) Petitioners in SLP (Crl.) Nos. 8656-8657 of 2019 are nine police officials (hereafter "the accused-petitioners") who sought before the High Court quashing of Criminal Complaint No. 112 dtd. 23/2/2016 under Ss. 302, 341, 201, 148, 149 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860(1 In short, "IPC"), setting aside of the summoning order of 17/8/2017 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Amritsar, and reversal of the charge-framing order of 22/3/2018 made by the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar. Their prayers were refused. The petitioner in SLP (Crl.) No. 006534 of 2025 is the original private complainant, Princepal Singh, who challenges the same High Court order in so far as it quashed the proceedings against Deputy Commissioner of Police Parampal Singh (arrayed below as accused No. 10) on the ground of want of sanction under Sec. 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(In short, "CrPC").

(3.) The factual backdrop is as follows: