RANJEET KHUNUJA Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Section 482 Cr. P. C. is against the Order dated 17.2.2012 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class Indore in Criminal Case No. 420 of 2005. By the order impugned learned Magistrate has rejected the application filed by applicant under Section 311 r/w Section 321 of the Cr. P. C.

(2.) On a report lodged by the wife Smt. Harmit Kaur, Police (Mahila Thana Indore) registered a case and filed the charge sheet against the applicant for offences punishable under Section 498-A and 506 of the IPC. Prosecution examined the wife (Smt. Harmit Kaur), her parents and brother and thereafter closed the prosecution case and the case was fixed for recording the accused's statement under Section 313 Cr. P. C. At this stage, the application in question filed to summon certain persons as court witnesses. After hearing rival submissions, Court below has rejected the application by the order impugned. Hence this petition.

(3.) It is submitted on behalf of the applicant that Court below committed grave error of law in rejecting the application. It failed to see and appreciate that similar application filed by the prosecution was allowed to examine persons who were not cited as witnesses inthe Charge sheet, whereas persons sought to called/summoned as court witnesses are those whose statements were recorded by the Police during investigation. It is also submitted that Court can at any time exercise power under Section 311 Cr. P. C. According to learned counsel, the order impugned, is therefore unsustainable in law. On the other hand counsel for the State and Smt. Harmit Kaur opposed the petition and pointed that application was filed just to prolong the case which is pending since 2004 and it was rightly rejected by the Court.