(1.) FOR taking the exception and putting the challenge to the order which has been passed by J. M. F. C. , Kankavali in the matter of Criminal Case No. 426/96 issu ing process against the petitioners or offence punishable under Section 341 read with 34, i. P. C. , the petitioners are praying this Court for issuing a writ of certiorari and quashing the said proceeding.
(2.) THE prosecution case in brief can be enumerated as mentioned hereinunder.
(3.) AT Harkul Budruk in Kankavali taluka, District Sindhudurg there is mosque controlled and regulated by a Public Charitable Trust, namely, "anjuman-E-Khudamul muslim Harkul Budruk Trust" which has been registered with the office of the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai. The said trust looks after the affairs of mosque, school and kabristan. The petitioners are trustees of the said trust. The said office is at Mumbai and the branch office is at Harkul Budruk. The mosque in question is called "jumma masjid". On the day of Ramzan-ldd, as per the allegation of the original complainant the respondent No. 1, the petitioners locked the said mosque. The members of Muslim community residing in Harkul Budruk could not offer namaj on that day on account of the locking of the said mosque by the petitioners as alleged by the complainant in the said complaint. Tahasildar Kankavali and diwakar Sawant were present and on account of that and to see that those persons could offer namaj at Ramzan-ldd day. Thereafter on Bakri-Idd day, the villagers of the said village belonging to Muslim religion apprehended that the petitioners would do the same act of locking the mosque but the petitioners, according to the version of the complainant in the complaint, gave undertaking that they would not do so, and, therefore, nothing wrong took place.