RAJENDRA SHANTILAL BALDOTA Vs. SUBHASH KESHARMAL MUNOT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Shri S. C. Bora, Counsel for petitioners, Shri B. R. Warma, Counsel for respondent No. 1 and Shri. N. S. Choudhari, Additional Public Prosecutor, for the respondent No. 2 - State.

(2.) RULE returnable forthwith and the matter is taken up for final hearing by consent.

(3.) THE present respondent No. 1 approached Kotwali Police Station, Ahmednagar on 9-2-1993 and alleged that at about 3. 00 p. m. on that day when he had gone to the house of the present petitioners alongwith Court bailiff and while he was stepping down the stairs-case the 2 petitioners assaulted the complainant. The concerned police took no cognizance and directed the present respondent No. 1 to approach the Court. The present respondent No. 1 thereafter filed complaint on 17-3-1993 before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ahmednagar and it was numbered as Summary Criminal Case No. 1186 of 1993. In the said criminal case it is alleged, in addition to the abuses and assaults by sticks that the accused present petitioner also threatened the complainant with dire consequences. The concerned Magistrate then recorded the verification of the present respondent No. 1. In the said verification it is then alleged that the present petitioners abused the complainant and assaulted him with sticks and threatened him to kill. On the basis of the complaint and the verification the trial Magistrate by an order dated 30-3-1993 directed to issue process under sections 323, 504, 506 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. In pursuance of the said process the present petitioners appeared before the trial Court and the criminal case adjourned from time to time. The present petitioners accused then moved the trial Court by application Exh. 30 on 3-8-1996 for dropping the proceedings in view of the ruling of the Supreme Court reported in ("common Cause" a registered Society through its Director v. Union of India), 1996 (4) Bom. C. R. 519 (S. C.) : 1997 Bom. C. R. (Cri.) 318 (S. C.) : 1996 (2) Mh. L. J. 1 on the ground that the criminal case was pending against these petitioners for more than 2 years and did not commence till submission of the application. The present respondent No. 1 complainant filed his say at Exh. 34 and resisted the application. By an order dated 9-10-1996 the trial Magistrate rejected the said application and refused to drop the proceedings on the ground that the ruling of the Supreme Court was not applicable to the facts of the case at hand. The petitioners accused then took up the matter to the Sessions Court in Criminal Revision No. 471 of 1996 and by an order dated 16-3-1998 it came to be dismissed by the Sessions Court. It is against these 2 orders that the petitioners-accused have approached this Court in the present criminal application under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.