TASLIMUDDIN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short the Code). It is directed against the order dated 28-5-1987 passed in Complaint Case No. 83(C) of 1987 by the Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, Araria taking cognizance of the offence against the petitioner under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) It appears that Opposite party No.2 had filed a complaint petition before the said Court against the petitioner and five others making out allegations for having committed the offences under Section 500 and 120-A of the Indian Penal Code. In this complaint petition the following allegations were made. The complainant (Opposite party No.2) had stated in it that in 1980 election of Bihar Legislative Assembly he was declared elected and was subsequently appointed as Minister for Public Health Engineering Department It has further been alleged that the accused persons including the present petitioner filed a false and connected petition before the Vigilance Department of Government of Bihar making out allegations that the opposite Party-2 had constructed a big house consisting of 32 rooms in his village and for this purpose he had wrongly utilised the funds as well as the articles of Public Health Engineering Department. The Vigilance Department of the Government sent this petition to the Lokayukta, Bihar who deputed a technical officer to the village of the Opposite party No.2 for finding out whether the allegations made in this petition were true or not. When the technical officer visited the house of opposite party No.2. Naturally the local people also collected there and came to know that such allegations were made against opposite party no. 2. Thus opposite party no. 2 lost prestige and fell down in the estimation of the public on the basis of the false allegations made in this petition. However, after completing the investigation Lokayukta found the allegations made against the opposite party no. 2 false. Hence the complaint petition was filed before the learned Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate as stated above.

(3.) On receipt of this complaint petition an enquiry under Section 202 of the Code was held by the Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, Araria in the course of which he examined three witnesses. He also perused some documents produced before him. He found that a prima facie case under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code only was made but against the present petitioner and not against the rest. Accordingly, he took cognizance of the offence and transferred the case for disposal to another Judicial Magistrate. This he did by his order dated 23-5-1987 which has been impugned before me. In this petition the petitioner has contended that he is a respectable man and conies out of a respectable family. Opposite party no. 2 had filed the false case against him only to lower his reputation and to cause him mental torture. The case brought against him is false and vexatious. The petitioner is a law abiding citizen and a respectable person. He has dedicated himself to the service of the people as a result of which he could be elected as ,a Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly from Jokihat constituency. The complaint petition against him was filed out has political vendetta and is vexatious in nature. There has been a long delay of several months in filing the complaint petition. The impugned order is bad in law and wrong on facts. The trial court had acted without jurisdiction. The case, if at all, should have been filed by the Public Prosecutor. No previous sanction of the State Government has been obtained. On these grounds it has been contended that the impugned order as also the prosecution case against him be quashed.