State v. Khurshid & Others
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC:124095 Court No. - 82 Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 23601 of 2024 Applicant :- Smt Mahjabeen Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Ravindra Sharma Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Subhash Chandra Sharma,J.
Legal Reasoning
Heard learned counsel for the applicant as well as learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the material on record. This application has been filed with a prayer to allow this application and quash the impugned order dated 30.04.2024 in Session Trial No. 645 of 2019, (State Vs. Khurshid), arising out of Case Crime No. 957 of 2018 under Sections 307, 324, 504, 506 I.P.C., Police Station Sardhana, District Meerut pending in the court of Additional Session Judge, Court No. 1, Meerut and also prayed to direct the Learned Additional Session Judge, Court No. 1, Meerut to alter or add to the charge, already framed upon the O.P. No. 2 to 4 in Session Trial No. 645 of 2019, State Vs. Khurshid & Others, (arising out of Case Crime No. 957 of 2018) under Sections 307, 324, 504, 506 I.P.C., Police Station Sardhana, District Meerut and further prayed to stay the further proceeding in the aforesaid case. It is submitted by learned counsel for the applicant that in this case incident took place in the year 2018, in which injuries were caused to the husband of applicant regarding which Crime No. 957 of 2018 under Section 147, 148, 307, 504, 506 I.P.C. was registered and after investigation charge sheet was filed. The injured Meharban was treated in the hospital and his surgical operation was also done. Even after discharge from the hospital his treatment continued. There was a cross case crime no. 955 of 2018 u/s 302 I.P.C. in which he was named as accused but during investigation his involvement was not found established, therefore, he was exonerated. During the course of trial in the year 2022 an application under Section 319 Cr.P.C. was moved on the prosecution side which was allowed by the learned court in pursuance thereto the injured Meharban was sent to jail. When he was in jail his physical condition started deteriorating on account of effect of previous injuries that were caused on his stomach and surgery was done in the year 2018. No proper treatment was provided to the injured in jail and when he became more ill he was referred to higher center for treatment where during the course of treatment he died and post-mortem was conducted in which cause of death was found to be septicemia due to chronic illness of multiple organs involvement also old case of physical assault and two ante-mortem injuries were found on the person (1) a stitched wound measuring 23 cm in length and 24 stitches present over epigastrium below umbilicus and (2) surgical intervention- a opened wound measuring 4 cm * 21 cm present over 26 cm below from right nipple old mark present over stomach and large intestine. After death of the injured Meharban an application for alteration of charge was moved before the learned trial court on the part of prosecution on which objection was invited from the accused side and an order was passed by the learned trial court on 30.04.2024 by which application for alteration of charge was rejected. It is further submitted that since the incident took place in the year 2018, in which the deceased sustained injuries and the effect of those injuries could not come to an end but he was continued to be treated and in the same position he was sent to jail where proper treatment could not become possible and his intestines came out from the wound on account of septicemia, as a result of ante-mortem injuries those were caused on the stomach in the year 2018 by the accused persons, and he died but this fact was not taken into consideration by the learned trial court while considering the application for alteration of charges. It is also submitted that the septicemia was caused on account of injuries sustained in the incident which occurred in the year 2018. Learned counsel for the applicant also relied his argument on the case of Dev Saran and Others Vs. State of U.P. 2023 0 Supreme(All) 224 and N Chellaiah Vs. State 2013 LawSuit(Mad) 444 in which death was caused due to septicemia during the course of treatment. In that case, the deceased was hit on his head three times and when he fell down the other accused had beaten him thrice on intestine and abdomen. The deceased was taken to the hospital and died several days later while in the hospital the doctors opined that inspite of the injuries the cause of death was due to septicemia which resulted into death as a result of all the head injuries and was sufficient to cause death in ordinary course of nature. The question before the court was, as to whether the offence committed by the accused would fall under any of the limbs of Section 300 I.P.C. It was observed that septicemia is not the primary cause and the death was due to injuries caused to the deceased and they were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, septicemia could therefore need not be taken into account. It was also found in that case that the death occurred after sixteen days of the occurrence of incident due to septicemia which cause the death of the deceased, therefore, Hon'ble Supreme Court did not take into account the secondary effect i.e. septicemia. Learned A.G.A. opposed the prayer as aforesaid and contended that the deceased sustained injuries in the incident which occurred in the year 2018 and thereafter, his treatment was done and he became well and after discharge came to his house and till the year 2022 there was no effect of septicemia to the deceased but when he was sent to jail after summoning by the court he became ill and was given treatment by the jail doctor. On his condition becoming critical he was referred to higher centre, therefore, the effect of septicemia cannot be attributed to the previous incident which took place in the year 2018. It is also contended that as per jail record the deceased was admitted into the jail. On 01.02.2022 at 17:40 'o' clock. He was examined by the doctor at that time there was no any sign of fresh injury on his person but he was told about old lower abdomen surgery in the year 2018. After examination the deceased was provided with the required treatment and on 11.02.2022 after Covid-19 being found to be negative he was transferred to district jail, Meerut where he was again medically examined but there was no any sign of fresh external injury on his person and no any complaint regarding post-operational problem was disclosed by him. There also he was provided treatment in O.P.D. District jail, Meerut. On 11.05.2022 he complained about abdominal pain with nausea then he was admitted in the hospital and treatment was started then referred in emergency to Medical College, Meerut where he was provided treatment from there he was referred to L.L.R.M. Medical College, Meerut where at 22:50 'o' clock in the night he died. During post-mortem, two ante- mortem injuries were shown to be present on the dead body of the deceased though no any such injury was present on his person at the time of admission in the jail, therefore, the effect of septicemia may be subsequent effect of later treatments and it cannot be said to be proximate cause of injuries sustained by the deceased in the year 2018. All these facts were taken into consideration by the learned trial court while considering the application for alteration of charges and accordingly it was rejected. On considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by learned counsel for the applicant as well as learned A.G.A. and perusal of record, the post-mortem report, jail record provided by learned counsel for the applicant and considering the entire circumstances of the case, it appears that the deceased sustained injuries in the year 2018 regarding which an F.I.R. was lodged under Section 307 I.P.C. against the accused persons after treatment he was discharged and till the year 2022 no septicemia occurred to him. When he was sent to jail in the year 2022 by the learned court at the time of admission in jail also there was no any ante-mortem injury found on the person of the injured and no any post-operational complication was complained of to the jail authority as per jail record. During the period he remained in jail the ailments started and he was provided with the treatment by the jail doctor thereafter, his condition deteriorated when he was transferred to district jail, Meerut where he was also provided the treatment but his life could not be saved. The post-mortem of dead body of the deceased was conducted in which two ante-mortem injuries were found on the abdomen which were (1) a stitched wound measuring 23 cm in length and 24 stitches present over epigastrium to below umbilicus and (2) surgical intervention- a opened wound measuring 4 cm * 21 cm present over 26 cm below from the right nipple old mark present over stomach and large intestine. These injuries were not present on the person of the deceased at the time of admission in jail and there was no any septicemic sign. The cause of death was found to be septicemia due to chronic illness of multiple organs involvement alleged old case of physical assault. In the cases cited by the learned counsel for the applicants, the injured died during the course of treatment after small gap of time. In my considered opinion, since the septicemia occurred to the deceased after four years of the previous incident of 2018 during which he was recovered and passed four years of his life in well condition, therefore, subsequent septicemic effect cannot be related to previous incident as it being too remote and no any external injury or sign of septicemia on his person at the time of admission in jail, therefore, the prayer for alteration of charge cannot be accepted. In this regard, the order passed by the learned trial court under Section 216 Cr.P.C. while rejecting the application by order dated 30.04.2024 warrants no interference. As a result, this application being devoid of merit is liable to be dismissed. Accordingly, this application is, hereby, dismissed. Order Date :- 1.8.2024 Suraj Srivastav