MOHINDER VERMA Vs. CH. LAL SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have filed the present petition for quashing the proceedings arising out of the criminal complaint titled "Ch. Lal Singh vs. Mohinder Verma and others" under Sec. 500, 501, 502, 504, 506 and 120-B RPC pending before the court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kathua (hereinafter to be referred as the trial court) and also the order dtd. 9/7/2013 by virtue of which the learned trial court has issued the process against the petitioners for commission of offences under Sec. 501 and 502 RPC.

(2.) It is stated that the respondent filed a false and frivolous baseless complaint against the petitioners alleging therein that the petitioners published news items in the newspaper"s edition dtd. 9/3/2013 and 26/4/2013 against the respondent. The learned trial court by the impugned order dtd. 9/7/2013, after recording the statement of the respondent and one witness, namely, Jatinder Singh, issued the process against the petitioners for commission of offences under Sec. 501 and 502 RPC. It is further stated that a PIL bearing number WPPIL No. 19 of 2011, was initially filed against the daughters of Taj Mohi-ud-Din and in the said PIL, an application came to be filed by Prof S. K. Bhalla regarding the illegal and unauthorised possession of the respondent over the land, that was registered as CMA No. 276 of 2012. The Division Bench passed the orders from time to time and the same used to be carried by all the newspapers in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. During the pendency of the said PIL, then MLA Kathua, Sh. Charanjit Singh filed another application bearing CMA No. 597 of 2013 and prayed for permitting him to intervene in the said matter and place on record the facts those were within his knowledge, particularly the manner in which the honest and dedicated officer i.e. the then Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Kathua was got transferred prematurely. The Hon"ble Division Bench Court passed the orders on 8/3/2013 and another order on 25/4/2013, which were carried in the newspapers on the next day.

(3.) The petitioners have filed the present petition for quashing the criminal proceedings of the above title complaint as well as the order of issuance of process, on the following grounds: