FAYAZ AHMED LONE Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Section 561-A Cr.P.C. is directed against order dated 30.08.1999 passed by the learned 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar ["the Trial Court"] in criminal challan titled State v. Mushtaq Ahmad Ganie and others, arising out of FIR No. 11/1996 of Police Station, Pulwama.

(2.) In terms of the order impugned, the Trial Court has arraigned the petitioner along with seven other persons as accused in the challan, on the basis of statements of the prosecution witnesses recorded during trial. The case set up by the petitioner is that the petitioner is not named by the police in the FIR nor was his involvement found during the course of investigation. It is submitted that in the challan presented before the Trial Court, the police did not arraign the petitioner as accused and rightly so, as neither the petitioner was named in the FIR nor he was named by any of the prosecution witnesses, whose statements were recorded by the police during investigation. It is, thus, argued that in the absence of specific role ascribed to the petitioner in the commission of the offence alleged in the challan, the petitioner could not have been arraigned as an accused with the aid of Section 351 Cr.P.C.

(3.) Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.