KHARATI LAL Vs. VEENA RANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a criminal revision and has been directed against the order dated 10.12.1997 passed by the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rajpura vide which the learned Magistrate summoned Kharati Lal and Sita Devi as co-accused alongwith Paramjit.

(2.) SMT . Veena Rani filed a criminal complaint under sections 406/498-A I.P.C. read with section 34 I.P.C. against Paramjit, Kharati Lal, Sita Devi and eight others. The learned Magistrate after recording the preliminary evidence stated that since the dowry articles were entrusted only to accused No. 1 i.e. Paramjit being the husband of the complainant and it is the normal tendency of the villagers that ladies do not go to attend the Barat and summoned Paramjit for the offence under Sections 406 and 498-A I.P.C. and dismissed the complaint qua respondents No. 2 to 11. The operative portion of the order dated 22.7.1996 is as follows :-

(3.) THE learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent submits that the learned trial Court had acted rightly. But I am not in a position to agree with the submission raised by the learned counsel for the respondent in view of the earlier order passed by the Magistrate which became final. A complaint on new facts is certainly maintainable, but the request of the complainant was not for an additional offence or for the commission of the same offence by new averments. She was all the times praying to the court for the production of her husband Paramjit. The authority which has been relied upon by the Magistrate is not applicable to the facts of this case. Rather the same is to the contrary. It lays down that in the event of a person has been summoned an accused, such accused has the right to make a submission before the Magistrate in order to show that the complaint was nothing but an abuse of the process of law and that the summoning order requires to be recalled. This is also in conformity with the provisions of section 245(2) Cr.P.C. In these circumstances, the impugned order dated 10.12.1997 is hereby set aside and directions are given to the Magistrate to prosecute with the complaint only against Paramjit. The Magistrate shall request the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patiala to write to the passport authorities and Ministry of External Affairs for bringing Shri Paramjit to India. The Magistrate shall adopt all coercive methods, in order to secure the presence of Paramjit, including the attachment of the share of the said accused in any immovable property. Revision allowed.