PUNEET Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the instant petitions are being taken-up together for discussion and adjudication as these have arisen out of the same order as passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Hisar, on 3/8/2018 whereby the application, moved by the prosecuting agency under Sec. 319 Cr.P.C., has partly been allowed to the extent of summoning Ram Chander, Sadhu, Jai Kishan, Leela, Sumeru Pandit and Punit (petitioners in CRR No.2856 of 2018) as the additional accused to face trial along-with their co-accused named Chander, in the criminal case arising out of the FIR bearing No.225 dtd. 10/7/2017 registered at Police Station Sadar, Hansi, under Ss. 153-A, 504, 505 and 506 IPC as well as Ss. 3(1)(r)(z)(za) and 3(2)(v)(a) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short 'the SC/ST Act') but has partly been dismissed so far as it pertains to the prayer, as made therein, for summoning Narender Kadiyan DSP, Udey Bhan Godara SHO, Ramesh Kumar SI and Amrit Lal ASI as additional accused to face trial in the said case.

(2.) Bereft of unnecessary details, the facts, culminating in the filing of both these petitions, are that the subject FIR was registered on the basis of the written complaint, moved by Ajay Kumar (arrayed as respondent No.2 in CRR No.2856 of 2018 and the petitioner in CRR No.569 of 2019) (here-in-after referred to as 'the complainant') and also signed/thumb-marked by several other villagers belonging to Dalit community, alleging therein that on 15/6/2017, a scuffle/fight had taken place between some youngsters, belonging to Brahmin caste and Dalit community, over the turn to get water and a criminal case was registered in respect thereof, under several provisions of IPC as well as the SC/ST Act. The accused party therein had been pressurizing them to compromise the matter while threatening that otherwise, they would be socially boycotted and would be forced to leave the Village and also to face the situation similar to the one that arose in Village Mirchpur. On 2/7/2017, the Watchman of their Village named Daulat Ram effected 'munadi' (proclamation) to the effect that none of the members of Dalit community in the Village would enter into the fields belonging to the members of Jat and Brahmin communities. On being enquired, he disclosed that accused Chander as well as the petitioners in CRR No.2856 of 2018 had asked him to do so. The said proclamation/munadi was video-graphed. Thereafter, 200-250 persons from the above-said communities gathered in the Village at about 9:00-10:00 P.M. and the members of Dalit community got terrified. The dairy owners in the Village stopped providing milk to them and their children could not be sent to the school due to the above-narrated atmosphere/circumstances.

(3.) On completion of the investigation, the police submitted the Charge-sheet/Challan (annexed as P-1 in CRR No.2856 of 2018) whereby only one accused named Chander had been sent up to face the trial while reporting therein that the remaining accused, i.e the petitioners in CRR No.2856 of 2018, were found to be innocent. During the course of the trial against accused Chander, complainant-informant Ajay Kumar appeared in the witness box as PW-3 and in his examination-in-chief (annexed as P-2 in CRR No.2856 of 2018) as recorded by the trial Court, he reiterated his allegations against the petitioners in CRR No.2856 of 2018 besides making depositions against accused Chander. In view of his testimony, the afore-mentioned application had been moved under Sec. 319 Cr.P.C wherein the impugned order has been passed.