A. SELVARAJ Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE accused in Summary Trial Case No. 2127 of 1981 on the file of the Judicial Second Claw Magistrate, Kallakurichi has filed this petition under Section 482 , Code of Criminal Procedure to seek quashing of the proceeding in the said case.

(2.) THE Petitioner is employed as a conductor in Thiruvalluvar Transport Corporation, On 31st August. 1981 the Petitioner went is conductor in a bus plying on Route No. 582, viz., Salem to Madras via Kallakurichi and Thirukkoilur. When the bus reached Kallakuriohi, there were 44 passengers and one child travel ling in the bus as against the total passenger capacity of 46. Thus only one seat was available for passengers boarding the bus at Kallakurichi. According to the Petitioner, the Time -Keeper at Kallakurichi had already issued tokens for three passengers who were bound for Madras, The Time -Keeper told the Petitioner that there was one more passenger, viz., an officer who also wanted to proceed by the same bus from Kallakurichi to Thirukkoilur which was the next stop after Kallakurichi. The Petitioner would say that he could not provide seats for all the four passengers, but the Time -Keeper insisted upon the Petitioner taking the officer passenger also. When the Petitioner went to the bus, the three passengers who had been issued tokens bad already boarded the bus. The officer passenger boarded the bus last and the Petitioner told him that he was unable to provide seating accommodation for him. Only after the bus reached Thirukkoilur, the officer passenger revealed his identity as the Judicial Second Class Magistrate of Thirukkoilur. When the bus entered Thirukkoilur, the officer passenger asked him to stop the bus at an unscheduled stopping place, but he declined to do so. When the bus reached the scheduled stopping place, the passenger informed the Petitioner that he was the local Judicial Second Class Magistrate and he started abusing the Petitioner and demanded the production of the trip -sheet and the registration certificate of the bus. The Petitioner told him that since it is a bus run by the public sector corporation, the registration certificate would be retained at the corporation's office and only traffic returns, and not trip -sheets, were being maintained. The officer vowed vengeance against the Petitioner and told him that he would be taught a lesson very soon. Then, all on a sudden, on 21st September, 1981 the Petitioner received a summons from the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Thirukkoilur directing him to appear before the said court on 29th September, 1981 to answer charges under Section 49 -(a),49 TT , 49 XX (iii), 49 -YY (i) and 276 (iii) read with Section 112 of the Motor Vehicles Act and under Section 113 of of the said Act. Accordingly, the Petitioner went to the Court at Thirukkoilur on 29th August, 1981 and waited from the morning. The case was not called, but unexpectedly, at about lunch time, the Petitioner was arrested in execution of a non -bailable warrant issued by the Magistrate and was remanded to the Sub Jail at Thirukkoilur. A bail application was filed, but it was not pursued by the Petitioner's lawyer and hence it was dismissed. The Petitioner would say that the Magistrate had prevailed upon the concerned Advocate as well as other Advocates not to appear for the Petitioner and hence the bail application was not pursued. Hearing of the Petitioner's arrest, the Transport workers attached to the Salem Depot of the Corporation went on strike and thereupon the District authorities intervened in the matter. The Petitioner was enlarged on bail on 1st October, 1981. The Petitioner was asked to appear in, court on 14th October, 1981. But, on that day, the Magistrate was on leave and hence the Petitioner was bound over to appear on 21st October, 1981. In the meanwhile, the case against the Petitioner was transferred to the Court of the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Kallakurichi and the Petitioner received summons from that Court to appear on 29th October, 1981. In view of this, the Petitioner did not attend the court at Thirukkoilur on 21st October, 1981. But, again the Magistrate at Thirukkoilur issued a warrant of arrest against him. Subsequently the Petitioner took steps to have the warrant of arrest recalled. It is in that state of affairs the Petitioner has come forward with this petition to seek quashing of the proceedings against him.

(3.) SATHAR Sayeed, J., who admitted the petition, had called for an explanation from the concerned Magistrate in order to facilitate proper disposal of the case. The Magistrate had given a report wherein he had stated as follows: