CHANAN Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure, for quashing the order dated May 19, 1990 passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hoshiarpur, and the order dated September 17, 1990 passed by the Sessions Judge, Hoshiarpur.

(2.) FIRST Information Report No. 131, dated October 26, 1986, was registered at P.S. Sadar Hoshiarpur, under Sections 326, 452 and 34 Indian Penal Code, against Chanan and two others. Charge-sheet was filed by the Police after investigation in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hoshiarpur. The petitioner, Chanan, was not named in the charge-sheet as an accused. The other two persons, Santokh Raj and Sat Pal, were arrayed as accused persons therein. The statement of the complainant, Nathi, was recorded by the learned Magistrate on May 19, 1990. Chanan was ordered to be summoned as an accused in the case, on an application filed by the Public Prosecutor.

(3.) SHRI R.S. Virk, learned Assistant Advocate General, Punjab, has been heard. The objection raised in the petition is that there was no legal evidence before the learned Magistrate on the basis of which Chanan was ordered to be summoned as an accused. Cognizance could be taken by the trial court against any person under Section 319, Code of Criminal Procedure, on the basis of some evidence in the eye of law. The statement of Nathi was recorded by the learned Magistrate but it was incomplete because cross-examination of the witness had not been completed. Only the examination-in-chief of the witness had been recorded by the learned Magistrate. The evidence was, therefore, not complete and was not legally admissible for the purposes of Section 319, Code of Criminal Procedure. In the absence of cross-examination of Nathi, the mere examination-in-chief was neither sufficient nor was in the nature of legal evidence.