JYOTI RANI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE facts leading to this petition under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the Code) are that the Tehsildar, Bhatinda, filed a complaint against the present petitioner under Section 64 of the Indian Stamp Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act). According to other allegations in the complaint the petitioner had obtained half-share in a house situated in Bhatinda in exchange of a plot from one Virinder Kumar by means of a registered deed. In that deed the value of the house had been shown as Rs. 10,000. On an enquiry, the Collector, Bhatinda found that the value of the house was Rs. 22,000. The petitioner thus cheated the State to the tune of Rs. 480 in respect of the stamp duty plus registration charges.

(2.) VIDE order dated 19th July, 1982, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhatinda, exempted the personal appearance of the Tehsildar till further orders and allowed him to appear through the Additional Public Prosecutor. He also ordered for the summoning of the accused. In the present petition the petitioner prays for the quashing of the complaint as well as the orders of the Chief Judicial Magistrate by which she had been summoned to appear in his Court for the reasons given in para No. 14 of the petition.

(3.) THE next argument advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioner was that the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate did not examine on oath the complainant and his witnesses, if any, as required by Section 200 of the Code. However, a proviso has been appended to that section, the relevant portion of which reads as follows :-