IMPORTANT POINT
Unless the Magistrate applies his mind on the police reports and passes an order, power u/s 482 Cr.P.C. cannot be exercised.

JUDGMENT

A. K. Patnaik, J. —

Leave granted.

2. This is an appeal by way of Special Leave against the order dated 25.03.2008 of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Misc. No.10664-M of 2007 quashing a criminal proceeding against respondents Nos. 1 and 2.

3. The relevant facts briefly are that on 12.12.2004, F.I.R. No.276 was registered at Police Station Sadar, District Ludhiana, against the appellant under Sections 452, 324, 323, 506, 326 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘the IPC’) on information furnished by respondent No.1. The allegations in the F.I.R. were that on 12.12.2004, at about 8.00 a.m., the respondent No.1 and his mother were on their plot of land and they had engaged mason and labours for erecting walls on the plot when the appellant with others came armed with weapons and started beating the respondent No.1 and his mother and as a result the respondent No.1 and his mother suffered injuries and were admitted in the hospital. On 13.12.2004, the appellant gave a different version of the incident on 12.12.2004 to the police alleging that when he along with his father Mohan Singh reached the plot, they saw the respondent Nos. 1 and 2 along with others erecting walls on the plot and when Mohan Singh stopped the mason saying that the plot was a disputed one, respondent no.2 gave a lalkara and all others attacked Mohan Singh and the appellant caused injuries on them and as a result they have been admitted to the hospital. After investigation, the police filed two challans on 02.02.2006 before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ludhiana. Under one challan, the appellant, his father Mohan Singh and Bhupinder Singh were charge-sheeted for offences under Sections 452, 323, 326, 506 read with Section 34 of the IPC and under the other challan, respondent Nos.1 and 2 and some others were charge-sheeted for offences under Sections 342, 323, 324, 148 of the IPC. On 22.03.2006, the respondent No.1 submitted an application to the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, Punjab, pursuant to which the prosecution moved an application before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class on 19.07.2006 for permission to investigate further in the case and on 27.07.2006 the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ludhiana, granted such permission to the prosecution.

4. After further investigation, the Superintendent of Police, City-II, Ludhiana, submitted his report to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ludhiana Range. The relevant portion of the report of the Superintendent of Police, City-II, Ludhiana, which contains his conclusions after further investigation, is extracted hereinbelow:

“I found during my investigation that Mohan Singh, son of Shri Sher Singh , Dharmatma Singh, Harpal Singh, Jagdev Singh and Bhupinder Singh, sons of Mohan Singh, residents of Pullanwal, sold one plot of 1 kanal 13 marlas on 09.03.2004 to Bharpur Sigh, Harnek Singh, sons of Balbir Singh, Jagjit Singh, son of Amarjit Singh, Gurcharan Singh, son of Hari Dass and Jagdev Singh, son of Harpal Singh, resident of Phulanawal through registered sale deed vasikha No.23895 and the mutation No.10940 duly entered in the name of purchasing party. The purchasing party Harminder Singh @ Hindri, son of Shri Harnek Singh on 12.12.2004 was constructing 4 walls on this plot by employing labours and mason and while so in the meantime Dharmatma Sigh, Bhupinder Singh, sons of Mohan Singh and Mohan Singh came present on this plot and they stopped forcibly Harminder Singh not to erect 4 walls and when Harminder Singh @ Hindri did not stop, they started beating Harminder Singh @ Hindri with their weapons and he ultimately for his self defence ran towards his house and all these three persons while following Harminder Singh entered his house. Smt. Kamaljit Kaur, mother of Harminder Singh was also present in the house and in this incident, she got also various injuries. During this incident, Mann Singh, Bharpur Singh, son of Balbir Singh also