GUNJAN SINHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, who is a doctor and was running a Clinic at Amba in the district of Aurangabad, has approached this Court, while invoking its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with a prayer to quash an order dated 26.6.2003 passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Aurangabad in G.R. No.1387 of 2002 (arising out of Kutumba ( Amba) P.S. Case No.71 of 2002). By the said order, learned Chief Judicial Magistrate has taken cognizance of offence under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) SHORT fact of the case is that on 23.7.2002, Opp.Party no.2 filed a written application addressed to the Officer Incharge of Amba Police Station disclosing therein that on 22.7.2002 at about 9.00 P.M. (night), he brought his pregnant wife for the purpose of delivery to the clinic of the petitioner. It was disclosed that the petitioner at the relevant time was posted in Primary Health Centre, Kajpa. The petitioner told the informant that he will get the delivery done in his clinic and asked him to deposit Rs.1400/- After the treatment rendered by the petitioner, the condition of the informants wife become more serious. In the meanwhile, the informants men arrived there for rendering monetary help to the informant. It was further alleged by the informant that he requested the petitioner for referring his wife for her better treatment outside. Thereupon, the petitioner retorted that if all the Harijans (Scheduled Castes) will go to Varanasi and Patna, then for what purpose he had opened the Clinic at Amba and forcibly and negligently, the petitioner treated the wife of the informant. As per the informant, there were no arrangements for conducting delivery. However, lastly the wife of the informant delivered a child and, thereafter in the night at 11.00 P.M. his wife died in the clinic of the petitioner. It was alleged that had the petitioner not forcibly treated his wife, his wife would not have died. As per the informant, all the things were witnessed by his other co-villagers. The informant further alleged that after the death of his wife, the petitioner asked him to carry the dead body of his wife and cremate her and subsequently, cremation was done. On the basis of the aforesaid written report of the informant, an F.I.R. vide Kutumba (Amba) P.S. Case No.71 of 2002 was registered on 24.7.2002 for the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 (X) of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, after conducting investigation, the police submitted chargesheet under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code against the petitioner and the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate on the basis of chargesheet dated 24.3.2003 took cognizance of the offence and transferred the case to the file of Sri Alok Raj, Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Aurangabad for commitment.

(3.) IN view of the law laid down by the Apex Court, Sri Akhileshwar Prasad Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the order of cognizance is liable to be set aside.