SANJAY Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for quashing FIR No.60/2015 dated 8.4.2015 registered at Police Station, Paranda, for the offences u/ss.353, 355, 504 and 186 of the Indian Penal Code that was lodged by the respondent no.3 Sundarao s/o Bhausaheb Humbe, Advocate against the applicant Dr. Sanjay s/o Shridhar Andhare.

(2.) The applicant is M.D. in Medicine and runs Sushrut Hospital at Shivajinagar, Barshi Dist.Solapur. He was a witness in Criminal Case No.64/2009. The case was pending in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Paranda Dist.Osmanabad. The Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Paranda, had issued a nonbailable warrant for arrest of the applicant doctor since according to the Court, he did not appear as a witness in response to the summons issued to him earlier. On the date fixed namely 8.4.2015, in the morning hours, in response to the nonbailable warrant, he appeared before the Court and applied for cancellation of nonbailable warrant, which request was allowed. It appears that he was asked to wait since the counsel for the accused in that criminal case wanted 15 minutes time. Accordingly, the applicant doctor started waiting in the Court when other case namely RCS No.158/2009 was taken up by the Court and arguments were being heard. The Court kept the applicant doctor waiting and at about 140 p.m., the applicant doctor got up and addressed the Court in a loud voice that he is a practising doctor and was unable to wait for a long time. At about 340 p.m., the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Paranda, issued him a show cause notice asking him to explain within two hours as to why action should not be taken against him for obstructing the Court work. It appears that after two hours, the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Paranda, passed the order and recorded conviction u/s 228 of the Indian Penal Code and imposed fine in the sum of Rs.1,000/, in default to suffer simple sentence for 20 days. At about 615 p.m., it appears that the applicant doctor filed his reply to the show cause notice in which he stated that he was never served with any summons of the witness in the past before issuance of nonbailable warrant against him and, therefore, he could not appear on the earlier dates. He also stated in his reply that through inadvertence, without anything in his mind, contempt was committed, for which he regretted and, therefore, sought written apology and prayed for excuse. The learned trial Judge, however, passed the order thereon that since the reply was received after passing of the final order, the reply was not accepted and hence it was filed. It appears that simultaneously the respondent no.3 Advocate Shri Sundarao s/o Bhausaheb Humbe filed an application on 8.4.2015 in the same Court asking the Court to take severe action against the applicant doctor. The Court made an order that the contempt notice was already issued to the applicant doctor and, therefore, the application was kept pending. The applicant doctor then immediately deposited fine amount of Rs.1,000/ and thus the matter ended there.

(3.) It does appear that the respondent no.3 on 7.5.2015 made an application to the Court to take action against the applicant doctor by registering offence u/s 353, 355, 504 and 186 of the Indian Penal Code with a further threat to the Presiding Officer in writing that if the Court does not act and register the offences, then he would be compelled to cite the Presiding Officer as a witness in his complaint and, therefore, the Court must issue process against the applicant doctor. The learned trial Judge made a detailed order on that application and we quote the said order as under: