CHANDUBHAI MOHANBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INVOKING provisions of section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Code), the petitioners, accused persons, have approached this court with the prayer to quash the order dated 9.4.1999 of the learned Addl.Sessions Judge, Vadodara below application Exh.5 in Atrocity Sessions Case No.98/98. The petitioners appear to have filed that application Exh.5 for discharging them as far as offences punishable under section 3 (1) (x) of The Scheduled Castes & The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (or short, "the Act"), were concerned, on the basis, that the alleged offences were not committed within public view. That application was submitted at the stage of framing of the charge.

(2.) AFTER perusing the papers of investigation, the Sessions Court found that office of the Principal where the offences were alleged to have been committed was a public place and, therefore, the application of the petitioners was dismissed.

(3.) LEARNED counsel Mr K.B. Anandjiwala, appearing for the petitioners vehemently argued that chamber of the Principal of a college or a school could not be freely accessible to the common public and ought not to have been treated to be a place within public view. He however, fairly conceded that, whether a particular place was within public view or not was a question of fact and that question could be decided only on the basis of material or evidence on record.