CHITTARANJAN DAS Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revisional application is directed against an order of Shri S. C. Choudhury, Magistrate, 1st Class, Alipore, rejecting the petitioner's application for supply of copies, free of cost of statements of witnesses and documents on which the prosecution proposes to rely.

(2.) The facts are briefly as follows: On 6th June, 1959, an Information was lodged at Khardah Police Station that 8 girl aged about 15 years named Sandhyarani Das Gupta, was missing from the house of her mother at 317, Ghola Government Colony for refugees. A copy of the Information was sent to the Enforcement Branch of Police, Calcutta, and the girl was recovered from the house of Ganesh Dey, within the jurisdiction of Tollygunge P. S., and her statement was recorded on 11th June, 1959, by the officer-in-charge, Tollygunge P. S. A copy of the statement was sent to the Enforcement Branch, Calcutta, and was treated as the F.I.R., and Inspector Bamdeb Das of the Enforcement Branch investigated the case. According to the conclusion reached by the Inspector, there was a conspiracy entered into by Manibala alias Maniprova Mazumdar of 83A, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road, Ganesh Dey of Tollygunge Police Station, Chittaranjan Das of 29A, Kailash Bose Street, Calcutta, and others, in pursuance of which the girl was kidnapped from her mother's house at Ghola within Barrackpore Subdivision and brought to Manibala's house at 88A, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road, and taken on several occasions by. Ganesh Dey to the house of Chittaranjan Das at 29A, Kailash Bose Street, where Chittaranjan Das committed rape on her, after promising to find employment for her. Chittarajan Das was an officer employed in the Relief and Rehabilitation Department at an office at Tollygunge, and Ganesh Dey was a peon employed at the same office. Inspector Bamdeb Das, through the officer-in-charge, Amherst Street Police station (29A, Kailash Bose Street being within the jurisdiction of Amherst Street Police Station) submitted a charge-sheet on 1st September, 1959, against Chittaranjan Das and others in respect of charges under sections 376, 376/109, 366 and 120B/366 I.P.C. before the Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta. The learned Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate after perusal of the case diary refused to take cognizance of the offences under sections 366 and 1208/ 366 I.P.C., as the offences appeared to have been committed outside his jurisdiction; he took cognisance of the charges under Section 376 and 376/109 I.P.C., and it may be mentioned that Chittaranjan Das and Ganesh Dey have been convicted at a Sessions trial of charges under Section 376 and Section 376/109 I.P.C. respectively.

(3.) A supplementary charge-sheet in respect of the charges under Sections 366A and 1203/366 I.P.C. was submitted before the Presidency Magistrate, Sri N. K. Sen who was holding the commitment Inquiry in respect of the charges under Sections 376 and 376/109 I.P.C., but the Presidency Magistrate by an order dated 5th October, 1959, refused to take cognisance, for want of territorial Jurisdiction. The High Court was moved against that order, but a Bench of this Court by an order dated 19th January, 1960 (in Cr. Rev. No. 1415 of 1959) upheld the order ot the Presidency Magistrate, observing that the prosecution might very well file a charge-sheet before the Magistrate having territorial jurisdiction over the offence.