High Court
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:152792 Court No. - 84 Case :- CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 4958 of 2023 Appellant :- Susheel Respondent :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Appellant :- Santosh Kumar Upadhyay,Vinod Kumar Upadhyay Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Mrs. Sadhna Rani (Thakur),J.
Legal Reasoning
Heard learned counsel for the appellant and learned A.G.A. Despite sufficient service, no one has put in appearance on behalf of respondent no.2. This is an appeal under Section 14A(1) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 against the order dated 18.03.2021 passed by the Special Judge SC/ST Act, Saharanpur in Complaint Case No.105 of 2019 (State Vs. Balbeer and others), under Sections 323, 504, 506 I.P.C. and 3(1) (r) of SC/ST Act, P.S.- Nanauta, District Saharanpur, whereby the appellant has been summoned to face trial under the aforesaid sections. It is argued by the learned counsel for the appellant that regarding incident dated 26.04.2019 an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. was moved by the complainant on 06.05.2019, which was registered as a complaint and after the statements under Sections 200 Cr.P.C. and 202 Cr.P.C. of the complainant and the witnesses respectively the appellant has been summoned to face trial under the aforesaid sections. It is further argued that the witnesses produced in the court under Section 202 Cr.P.C. were not named in the complaint and the witnesses Mehtab Husain, Idrish Rao and Shahjad Mirza, who were named in the complaint have not been produced before the trial court. The attention of the Court is drawn towards the police report in Case Crime No.148 of 2005, whereby after finding the FIR to be false, final report was submitted and proceedings under Section 182 Cr.P.C. were initiated against the complainant on 12.08.2005. Again the attention of the Court is drawn towards page-67 of the paper book, whereby an FIR Case Crime No.75 of 2009 was registered against the complainant/ respondent no.2 Balbeer and his wife regarding interference in the government duty being performed by the first informant therein. Further, the attention of the Court is drawn towards a report appended at page- 76 of the paper book, whereby the Sub-Inspector, Complaint Cell, Saharanpur found the report lodged by Salelata, the wife of the respondent no.2 false. On the basis of these orders/ proceedings, it is argued that the respondent no.2 and his wife are habitual of lodging false reports. In the present case also, the report lodged is false, wherein in the complaint there is no allegation of thrashing the complainant nor there is any allegation of giving him threat of life, while in the statements of the complainant and the witnesses there is allegation of thrashing and committing marpeet. It is further submitted that the son of the present appellant had lodged an FIR on 28.08.2010 against the present complainant, wherein charge-sheet was filed against the present complainant and the case is still pending. The present complaint has been filed as a counter blast of that FIR, hence, the prayer is made to set aside the order dated 28.03.2021. As per learned A.G.A. in the complaint dated 06.05.2019, which has been lodged regarding the incident dated 26.04.2019 the complainant/ respondent no.2 has alleged that caste based words were used by the appellant and one other co-accused person and the appellant was humiliated within public view. There is allegation of giving threat of implicating the complainant in false cases. However, three witnesses mentioned in the complaint are said to have rescued the respondent no.2 from the present appellant, but none of these witnesses have been produced before the trial court. If we go through the statement of the complainant Balbeer Singh, wherein though there is allegation of using caste based words against the appellant but in the statement of the complainant under Section 200 Cr.P.C., it has nowhere mentioned that these caste based words were used with intention to insult or to intimidate him with intent to humiliate him being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe. None of the witnesses, who are not named in the complaint have mentioned this phrase in their statements that caste based words were used intentionally to insult or intimidate with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in place within public view. For constituting any offence under Section 3(1) (r) SC/ ST Act this much is necessary that the caste based words must be used for intentionally insulting or intimidating a person with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe within public view. Thus, this allegation of complaint has not been supported by the complainant in his own statement under Section 200 Cr.P.C. and his witnesses in their statements under Section 202 Cr.P.C. So far as other allegations under Sections 323, 504 and 506 IPC are concerned, in the complaint there is not even a whisper of any marpeet or assault, which has been improved by the complainant and the witnesses in the their statements. Otherwise also, in support of the version of the complainant of thrashing, which is not there in the complainant or for other allegations under Sections 323, 504 and 506 IPC not even a single witness mentioned in the complaint has been produced before the trial court to adduce his evidence in support of the version of the complaint. Thus, in the opinion of the Court, the trial court has placed reliance upon the statement of the witnesses whose names had not even mentioned in the complaint. The trial court has thus misread the evidence on record and has not considered the contradiction/ improvement in the version of the FIR and the statement of the complainant. The order of the trial court dated 18.03.2021 is liable to be set aside The summoning order dated 18.03.2021 passed by the Special Judge SC/ST Act, Saharanpur is set aside.
Decision
The appeal is allowed accordingly. Order Date :- 31.7.2023 Radhika Digitally signed by :- RADHIKA VISHWAKARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad