KANWAR PAL SINGH GILL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a criminal revision and has been directed against the judgment dated 6th January, 1998 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, who affirmed the conviction order passed by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh, who convicted the petitioner under Sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, but modified the order of sentence of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate by giving the following directions as contained in para No. 32 of the impugned judgment :-

(2.) THE story of the prosecution can be described as follows :- Firstly a police case was registered on the basis of a complaint moved by Smt. Rupan Deol Bajaj, an I.A.S. Officer working as Special Secretary (Finance) to the Government of Punjab, Department of Finance. This complaint was moved to the Inspector General of Police, U.T. Chandigarh. It was alleged by the complainant in her complaint (Ex.PB) that on 18th July, 1988 she and her husband Shri B.R. Bajaj, who was also an I.A.S. Officer of Punjab Cadre, were invited by Shri S.L. Kapur, I.A.S., Financial Commissioner and Secretary to Govt. of Punjab, Department of Home, Legal Affairs and Justice and of Information and Public Relations, for dinner at 8.30 P.M. at his residence House No. 288, Sector 16, Chandigarh. The complainant and her husband reached at the residence of Mr. Kapur a few minutes after 9 P.M. Approximately 20/25 couples were already present there. Amongst those present were Shri V.N. Singh, I.P.S., Inspector General of Police, U.T. Chandigarh; Shri Paramjit Singh, I.A.S., Presiding Officer, Sales Tax and College Tribunals, Punjab, and his wife; Dr. P.N. Chutani, Retired Director of the P.G.I.; Shri Pathak, I.P.S., Joint Director Intelligence Bureau of India; Shri K.P. Bhandari, Advocate General of Punjab, and his wife; Shri Bijlani, Managing Director of Molins India, and his wife; Shri Mahajan, Managing Director of Punjab Tractors, and his wife Mrs. Shukla Mahajan; Shri Nehra, Senior Advocate of Punjab and Haryana High Court, and his wife and their daughter, who had just come from England. Besides the above, some press correspondents were also present, namely, Shri Gobind Thukral (Hindustan Times), Shri Vipin Modgil (India Today), Shri Sushil Bali (PTI), Shri Prem Kumar (Indian Express) and his wife. It is alleged by the complainant that Shri K.P.S. Gill, I.P.S., Director General of Police, Punjab (petitioner) was also present there. He was not accompanied with his wife. The party was arranged in the lawn at the back of the house of Shri S.L. Kapur. As per the tradition in the Indian homes, the ladies were sitting segregated in a large semi-circle and the gentlemen in another large semi-circle. The two large semi-circles were facing each other. No gentleman was present in the ladies' circle and no lady was sitting in the circle of the gentlemen. Round about 10 P.M. Dr. P.N. Chutani and Shri K.P.S. Gill walked across to the circle of the ladies and joined them occupying the only two vacant chairs available, almost on the opposite sides of the semi-circle. Shri K.P.S. Gill took a vacant chair about 5 to 6 chairs to the left of where the complainant was sitting. Slowly, all the ladies sitting to the right and left of him, got up and started leaving and going into the house. The complainant was talking to Mrs. Bijlani and Mrs. K.P. Bhandari, sitting on her right, and did not notice or come to know that a few ladies had got up and they had vacated their chairs because earlier the petitioner had allegedly misbehaved with them.

(3.) AFTER about 10 minutes Shri K.P.S. Gill got up from his seat and came and stood directly in front of the prosecutrix, standing straight but so close to her that his legs were about four inches from the knees of the prosecutrix. The petitioner allegedly made an action with the crook of his finger, asking her to stand and said, "You get up. You come along with me." The prosecutrix strongly objected to his behaviour and told him, "Mr. Gill, how dare you! You are behaving in an obnoxious manner, go away from here." Whereupon the petitioner repeated his words like a command and said, "You get up! Get up immediately and come along with me." The prosecutrix looked towards the other ladies and all the ladies were shocked and they became speechless and could not utter any word. Thereafter the prosecutrix felt apprehensive and she became frightened as the accused had blocked her way. Then the prosecutrix immediately drew her chair back about a foot and half and quickly got up and turned to get out of the circle through the space between her and Mrs. Bijlani's chair. Whereupon the petitioner allegedly slapped on the posterior of the prosecutrix. This was done in the full presence of the ladies and the guests.