BANSI LAL GUPTA Vs. KIRTI SHARMA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - In this petition, the petitioner seeks quashment of the proceedings pending as Complaint titled, "Mrs. Kirti Sharma and ors. v. Bansi Lal Gupta " in the Court of City Judge, Jammu under Section 500 RPC including all the orders passed therein, as being totally illegal, without jurisdiction and an abuse of the process of Court.

(2.) In this petition, it has been stated that the petitioner is the Editor-in-Chief/Proprietor of English Daily "Early Times", Jammu. He was summoned after taking cognizance by the learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (City Judge), Jammu in the Complaint. He appeared before the learned Trial Court and had tried to convince the Trial Court that, by reading of the Complaint and the statement of complainants and their witnesses recorded therein, no offence was made out under Section 500 RPC. It was also pleaded before the Trial Court that the complainants were not and could not be deemed to be aggrieved persons, as such, could not start the criminal prosecution. It had been further pleaded before the Trial Court that only because of rivalry; a Complaint had been made when there was never any factual nor any legal ground for the same. In fact, an application had been filed, requesting the Trial Court to drop the proceedings and dismiss the application. This application was dismissed vide order (Annexure-A) dated 15th December, 2008 by the Trial Court. The petitioner has also filed a copy of the Complaint (Annexure-B), as has been furnished to him, when he entered appearance before the Trial Court. A copy of the news item, which has been annexed by the complainants/respondents herein with their Complaint is also filed herewith as Annexure-C.

(3.) The petitioner is aggrieved of the initiation of proceedings and their continuation, as also the orders passed in the Complaint, where under instead of dismissing the same, cognizance has been taken and the application filed by the petitioner for dismissing the Complaint has been rejected. Petitioner pleads that the entire proceedings are an abuse of process of the Court, as such are liable to be quashed inter alia amongst others on the following grounds:-