VIJAY SINGH MANKOTIA Vs. NEHAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Section 482 read with Sections 397/401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code') read with Article 227 of the Constitution of India prays for setting aside the order dated 1-6-1998 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Shimla and for quashing the complaint No. 32/2 of 1989.

(2.) Brief facts leading to the presentation of this petition are that respondent Nehar Singh (hereinafter referred to as the 'Complainant') filed a complaint against the petitioner-accused (hereininafter referred to as 'the accused') and six others under Sections 469, 500, 501, 502 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. Case of the complainant as made out in the complaint is that he was born in a respectable family and did graduation and BT and served as a Trained Graduate Teacher for about a year and then resigned and contested elections from Rohru Constituency for the Territorial Council of Himachal Pradesh in the year 1957 and was duly elected as M.T.C., the position which he occupied till 1962. In the year 1962 he was again elected as a Member of the said Council which was given the status of Legislative Assembly in the year 1963 and the complainant continued to occupy the changed status/position till 1967. In the 1985 Assembly elections he was elected M.L.A. and was a sitting M.L.A. at the time of filing of the complaint. He had been a member of the Appointment and Promotion Committee while M.T.C. and as a Member of the Assembly had been a Member of the Public Accounts Committee and at the time of filing of the complaint was a Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Apart from the aforesaid positions he had been President of H. P. State Co-operative Marketing and Development Federation, President H. P. State Co-operative Bank, Director of National Agriculture Co-operative Federation, Senior Vice Chairman of National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing Federation, had represented India in South East Conference and also thrice in other movements held in West Germany, Balgaria, Japan and has also been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Co-operative Union and a Member of Central Board for Small Scale Industries and thus possesses and enjoys high reputation, character and integrity in the eyes of right thinking members of the Society. However, accused Jehar Singh and Vijay Singh Mankotia feeling jealous of the status and popularity of the complainant amongst his voters and supporters entered into a conspiracy with accused Prem Kumar, Arun Shorie, N. D. Sharma, Jitender Bajaj and

(3.) Initially the complaint was entertained by a Court having no jurisdiction. Therefore, subsequently it came to be heard by a Court of competent jurisdiction i.e. SDJM (I) Rohru. After recording the preliminary evidence consisting of three witnesses, namely, Nehar Singh, Hem Singh and Devinder Singh the learned Judicial Magistrate found that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against accused Jehar Singh, Vijay Singh Mankotia, Prem Kumar, N. D. Sharma and Jitender Bajaj for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 500, I.P.C. No such case was found against accused Arun Shorie and Prabhash Joshi. Accordingly, the accused against whom the grounds to proceed against were found were ordered to be summoned vide order dated 14-2-1995.