POULOSE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Original Petition is filed challenging a common order passed by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-III, Perumbavoor (for short the Court below) in C.M.P.Nos.707/2020 and 708/2020 in C.M.P628/2020 in C.C.358/2019. CMP.628/2020 is an application filed by the Assistant Public Prosecutor before the Court below under Sec. 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short 'Cr.P.C.') seeking to withdraw from prosecution. CMP.707/2020 and 708/2020 are applications filed seeking for permission to intervene in the proceedings proposed by the APP under Sec. 321 Cr.P.C for withdrawing from prosecution. Said applications have been dismissed by the Court below on the basis of Sec. 55 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (for short 'the Act') which is contained in paragraph 7 of the impugned order. The court below has observed that the petitioner has no locus standi to be heard in a petition seeking withdrawal from prosecution filed under Sec. 321 Cr.P.C and accordingly dismissed the application. The above reasoning of the Court below is incorrect. The Apex Court has in Sheo Nandan Paswan v. State of Bihar and Others (1987 KHC 844) laid the dictum in paragraph 14 of the judgment which is extracted hereunder :

(2.) The above dictum has been laid down by the Apex court based on its another judgment in A.R.Antulay v.R.S.Nayak, 1984 (2) SCC 500 which reads thus :

(3.) In the case on hand, petitioners who had filed CMPs 707 and 708 of 2020 are members of the society and they have got a right to see that the prosecution launched for an offence affecting the society is withdrawn by the prosecution based on a valid reason. The offence involved in the case is relating to wild life. Therefore public interest cannot be said to have been not involved and members of the society cannot be denied with opportunity to intervene in the proceedings initiated for withdrawal of prosecution. The court below has gone wrong in dismissing the applications filed by the petitioners and the impugned order is only to be set aside.