REKHA SHARMA Vs. RAMESH CHANDRA SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a criminal revision under Section 397 read with Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the order dated 14-2-2000 passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Umaria in Criminal Case No. 88/83.

(2.) THE facts giving rise to this petition are these :-- The respondents No. 1 to 4 are facing trial for offence under Sections 406 and 420 of I. P. C. on the basis of a report lodged by the petitioner to the concerned police whereby the concerned police filed a challan against them. The Additional D. P. O. filed an application under Section 311 of Cr. P. C. for recalling the petitioner for further examination on the point whether the document Ex. P-18 bore her signature. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate after considering the facts and circumstances of the case, came to the conclusion that the further examination of the petitioner is necessary to the just decision of the case but rejected the application following the decision of the Supreme Court in Raj Deo Sharma v. State of Bihar, AIR 1998 S. C. 3281. The learned Magistrate also closed the prosecution case in view of the direction given by the Supreme Court in Raj Deo Sharma's case (supra ). Aggrieved by the impugned order dated 14-2-2000, the present petition has been filed.

(3.) HAVING heard the learned counsel for both the sides and having gone through the entire material on record, I am of the view that this petition deserves to be allowed. A perusal of the impugned order dated 14-2-2000 establishes that the learned Magistrate himself is of the opinion that recalling of the petitioner for further examination is essential. He, however, rejected the application only on the ground that prosecution could not produce evidence within the stipulated period as observed by the Supreme Court in Raj Deo Sharma's case (supra ).