PRAHLADBHAI GOVINDBHAI ACHARYA Vs. PRITIBEN DEVENDRAKUMAR ACHARYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in all seven in number filed this Misc. Criminal Application under Sec. 482 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and prayer has been made to quash and set aside the order dated 22-3-2001 passed by the Court in Special Criminal Application No. 1034 of 2000 as being in violation of principles of natural justic.

(2.) Briefly stated the facts of the case are that the respondent No. 1 filed a F.I.R. bearing No. 171 of 1997 in Ghatlodia Police Station, Ahmedabad for the offences under Secs. 498A, 506(2), 504, 323 read with Sec. 114 of the I.P.C. and also under Secs. 3 and 7 of Prohibition of Dowry Acts. This F.I.R. was lodged by the respondent No. 1 on 15-4-1997. After registration of this F.I.R. of the respondent No. 1 the police arrested all the petitioners and the respondent No. 2 for the alleged offences. The accused persons vis. the petitioners and the respondent No. 2 were produced before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Mirzapur and they were released on bail. After completion of investigation in the criminal complaint of the respondent No. 1 by the police, the police filed charge-sheet in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Mirzapur on 6-7-1988 and the same was registered as Criminal Case No. 1384 of 1997. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate framed charges against the petitioners and the respondent No. 2. The petitioners are given out the gist/synopsis of the proceedings of the dates in the case. The respondent No. 1 filed Special Criminal Application No. 1034 of 2000 in this Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India and prayed for the transfer of the Criminal Case No. 1384 of 1997 from the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mirzapur, Ahmedabad to the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Nadiad. It is alleged that the respondent No. 1 though knows well that there are in all 8 accused in the Criminal Case No. 1384 of 1997 but she made party to the respondent No. 2 only in the Special Criminal Application No. 1034 of 2000. This Special Criminal Application was allowed by this Court on 22-3-2001 and in the facts of this case the criminal case was transferred to the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Dakor. The learned Counsel for the petitioners submitted written submissions and therein only contention raised is that as the petitioners were not made party to Special Criminal Application No. 1034 of 2000 and opportunity was not given to them to submit their objection and so they were not heard, the order made on 22-3-2001 deserves to be quashed and set aside. The petitioners put reliance on the ground of violation of principles of natural justice as they were not made party in the Special Criminal Application and no opportunity was given to them for hearing and in support of their this contention the reliance has been placed in the written submissions on the decisions of the Rajasthan High Court, this Court as well as the Hon'ble Supreme Court. These decisions are as under :-

(3.) I have given my thoughtful consideration to the only contention raised by the learned Counsel for the petitioner in written arguments and also gone through carefully the decisions of the Rajasthan High Court, this Court and Hon'ble Supreme Court.