SHAM LAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Sham Lal has approached this Court within the ambit of S. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing of a criminal complaint Annexure P. 1 and the subsequent orders of cognizance and issuance of summons by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patiala, against him on the ground that earlier two complaints filed by the respondent-complainant were dismissed in default by the said Court and thus the petitioner is deemed to have been acquitted within the ambit of S. 256 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

(2.) It is a fact that two complaints of the respondent-complainant were dismissed in default on 10-9-1986 and 25-2-1987 resulting into the acquittal of the petitioner for the offences for which he was being tried in a summons case. On the third complaint moved on the very facts involved in the earlier two complaints the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patiala, summoned the petitioner for an offence under S. 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The petitioner moved an application before the trial Court contending therein that the present complaint was liable to be dismissed for it was moved on the same facts on which the earlier two complaints were dismissed and the petitioner was deemed to have been acquitted for an offence under S. 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The argument did not prevail upon the learned Trial Court who disposed of the application with an observation that there is no provision under the Code of Criminal Procedure which empowers a Magistrate to review on recall a judicial order passed by him. He thus dismissed the application of the petitioner and proceeded with the case.

(3.) Heard learned counsel for the parties and went through the record on the file.