K VARALAKSHMI Vs. T V R C PRASAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) First respondent, who was the in charge Medical Officer, Government Hospital, Vinukonda filed a private complaint against the petitioner for an offence under Sec. 500 I.P.C. alleging that since the petitioner, who is working as a staff nurse, was absconding from duty, after signing in the attendance register, and was not attending to the duties allotted to her despite several oral instructions, and committed some irregularities, he instructed the In-charge U.D.C. to obtain leave letter from her for the period during which she abstained from duty, but petitioner, without submitting the leave letter, and without giving any explanation for her unauthorized absence, created a drama at her residence on 06-02-2004 At 6-00 a.m. that she attempted to commit suicide by hanging because of the alleged harassment by him, to cover up her irregularities and unauthorized abscence, and her rendering assistance to her husband in running an Orthopedic Clinic at Vinukonda by. absconding from duty in the Government Hospital and gave wide publicity of her alleged attempt to commit suicide through News Papers including Andhra Jyothi Telugu Daily dated 07-02-2004, which caused mental agony to him. The learned Magistrate, after recording the sworn statement of the petitioner and his witnesses took cognizance of the case as C.C.No. 133 of 2004. This petition is filed to quash the proceedings in the said C.C.

(2.) The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that since the first respondent is in the habit of harassing the members of the staff working in the Hospital they made complaints against him to the superior officers and thereupon, the District Medical and Health Officer, Guntur, appointed the Deputy District Medical and Health Officer, Narsaraopet as an Enquiry Officer to make an enquiry into the allegations received against the first respondent and the said Deputy District Medical and Health Officer, after making an enquiry submitted a report dated 06-02-2004 to the District Medical and Health Officer, Guntur, where he clearly found that the staff of the Government Hospital, Vinukonda are facing harassment from the first respondent and have been making requests for transfer from that place and so he recommended withdrawal of DDO powers from the first respondent for better administration of the hospital and the said report clearly shows that the petitioner has been undergoing mental torture and thus there is prima facie evidence of the first respondent harassing the petitioner and the other members of the staff and the petitioner being unable to bear the torture had attempted to commit suicide and the news reporters having come to know about her attempt visited her house and interviewed her and so she had to answer the questions put to her by the reporters, and as she did not call the news reporters, she cannot be said to have committed the offence of defamation, as she is not responsible for publication of the news items published and the offence, if any, can be said to have been committed by the news reporters, who are responsible for publication of the news items, but not the petitioner who is the victim of the harassment meted out by the first respondent and so proceedings against the petitioner are liable to be quashed.

(3.) The contention of the first respondent, who appeared in person, is that he who is the recipient of several awards and merit certificates, and a disciplinarian, was enforcing discipline much to the dislike of the members of the staff and the petitioner who was absconding duties and was attending to her husband's Clinic to help him and he, with a view to prevent the said irregularity, instructed the concerned clerk to obtain leave letters from the petitioner on the days on which she abstained from duty unauthorisedly, and to get over the same, the petitioner, by playing a drama and with a view to bring down his reputation in the society, gave a statement before the press reporters that she attempted to commit suicide in view of his harassment, and since the statement of the reporter of Andhra Jyothi, cited as a witness by him and examined as P.W.2 clearly shows that the petitioner called him and the other reporters to her house at Vinukonda, it is clear that petitioner herself publicized her alleged attempts to commit suicide but not the press. It is his contention that if really the petitioner made an attempts to commit suicide, an F.I.R. would have been registered against her under Section 309 IPC and since no such F.I.R is registered against her, it is clear that she made no such attempt and so there are no grounds to quash the proceedings against the petitioner. He contended that the report of the Deputy District Medical and Health Officer on the basis of an enquiry conducted behind his back, strongly relied on by the learned counsel for the petitioner, cannot be taken into consideration, more so because he questioned the said report and the order of the D.M. and H.O. withdrawing his DDO powers on the basis of the said report, in the A.P. State Administrative Tribunal, in which some interim orders are passed.