SATISH CHANDRA KANSAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant 482 Code of Criminal Procedure. petition has been filed by the applicants for quashing of charge sheet and the cognizance order passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jyotiba Phule Nagar in criminal case No. 1120/9 of 2002, arising out of case crime No. 314 of 1999 under Section 201 Indian Penal Code, P.S. Kanth, District J.P. Nagar.

(2.) The prosecution case in nutshell is that a first information report was lodged by the opposite party No. 2 on 5.11.1999 at 5.05 pm in respect of the incident occurred in the intervening night of 31.10.1999 to 1.11.1999 against Manoj Kumar Gupta, Smt. Saroj, Chandrabhushan Gupta and Smt. Vineeta Gupta and Deepchand alias Dibbu who had committed the murder of his sister Smt. Meenakshi Gupta alias Mata Jain and surreptitiously disposed of her body, which was registered as case crime No. 314 of 1999, under Sections 197, 149, 302, 201, 506 Indian Penal Code. According to the first information report the sister of the complainant was married to Manoj Kumar Gupta ten years prior to the incident according to the Hindu customary rites and sufficient amount of dowry was given. But after some time the husband and her in-laws started torturing her and used to batter her. The husband had illicit relations with his own sister in-law. In the night of 31.10.1999 the complainant had received a massage from one Vishal Jain to whom her brother in law had informed that the condition of his sister is serious and the doctors has left all hope. On receiving this information when the complainant arrived at her matrimonial house on 1.11.1999 at about 10:00 pm the dead body of his sister was lying there and when he inquired about her such condition, the in-laws disclosed that she has taken tablets of sulphas. But from her appearance neck was broken and blood was clotted on her head and nose and the body was bluish in colour. The neigbours disclosed that her jeth and jethani, mother in-law and two maternal uncles whose names are Deepchand alias Dibbu and Rajjo were involved in the commission of her murder. When the complainant went to lodge the first information report at the police station they came to know that they are performing last rites of Minakshi and as soon they reached at the cremation ground he found that they had already performed cremation by putting her on fire. They had also threatened that in case any report is lodged he will meet the same fate. After registering the first information report the police set in motion and investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet against Manoj Kumar Gupta, Chandra Bhushan Gupta and Smt. Vineeta Gupta under Sections 302, 201 Indian Penal Code. Thereafter the case was committed to the court of Sessions, J.P. Nagar. On account of death of Smt. Saroj Gupta during trial, the trial was abated against her and the charges were framed against the aforesaid persons and the trial proceeded against them, which ended in their acquittal by order dated 3.7.2007. During trial proceedings of the aforesaid accused persons the mother of the opposite party No. 2 had moved an application for making a request for investigation of the case through C.B.C.I.D. and the State Government directed to conduct investigation through C.B.C.I.D., who recorded the statements of all the persons already recorded by the civil police and submitted the charge sheet against the present applicants under Section 201 Indian Penal Code, as they were also present and cooperated the other accused persons in the cremation of the dead body of the deceased. On the basis of charge sheet submitted on 18.3.2002, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, J. P. Nagar had taken cognizance by order dated 27.3.2002.

(3.) It is argued by the Learned Counsel for the applicants that the trial of the co-accused persons proceeded in Session Trial No. 102 of 2000, arising out of case crime No. 314 of 1999 and were acquitted by order dated 3.7.2007 and against the applicants only the charge sheet has been submitted under Section 201 Indian Penal Code, therefore, the trial against the applicants is liable to be quashed. In this regard the Learned Counsel for the applicant has been relied upon the decision of the Apex Court Wattan Singh and Ors. v. State of Punjab, 2004 3 SCC 700, and has contended that in that case also the learned Session Court has acquitted all the accused of offence under Section 302, 149 Indian Penal Code. The Session Court acquitted all the accused persons under Sections 302, 149 Indian Penal Code. For offence under Section 306 Indian Penal Code Baldev Singh was held guilty, the other Appellants were acquitted from the charge under Section 306 Indian Penal Code but they were however found guilty of offence under Section 201 Indian Penal Code. Against the conviction an appeal was filed by the convicted persons as well as by the State where all the appeals were dismissed by the Hon'ble High Court.