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2023 Supreme(SC) 940

B. V. NAGARATHNA, UJJAL BHUYAN
Yashodhan Singh – Appellant
Versus
State of Uttar Pradesh – Respondent


Advocates Appeared:
Mr. S. Nagamuthu, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Ram Kishor Singh Yadav, Advocate, Mr. Kaushal Yadav, Advocate, Mr. Nandlal Kumar Mishra, Advocate, Dr. Ajay Kumar, Advocate, Dr. Sushil Balwada, Advocate, Mr. Vivekanand Rana, Advocate, Mr. Pramod Kumar, Advocate, Mr. Srilok Nath Rath, Advocate and Ms. Reena Rao, Advocate, for the Appellant; Mr. Ratnakar Dash, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh, Advocate, Mr. Yatharth Singh, Advocate and Ms. Amrita Panda, Advocate, for the Respondent.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

  1. The exercise of power under Section 190 of Cr.P.C. for summoning additional accused is distinct from the power exercised under Section 319 of Cr.P.C. (!)

  2. The power under Section 319(1) Cr.P.C. can be exercised at any time after the filing of the charge-sheet but before the pronouncement of judgment, excluding stages such as Sections 207/208 Cr.P.C., and during committal proceedings (!)

  3. Principles of natural justice and the opportunity of hearing are not applicable to a person summoned under Section 319 Cr.P.C., unless the person has already been discharged in the same proceeding prior to trial (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

  4. The primary purpose of Section 319 Cr.P.C. is to proceed with the trial of persons based on evidence that emerges during the course of the trial, not to conduct a mini-trial or a separate inquiry before adding someone as an accused (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

  5. The satisfaction required to invoke Section 319(1) Cr.P.C. must be more than a prima facie case but less than the level needed for conviction; it requires stronger evidence than mere probability of involvement (!) (!) (!)

  6. A person not named in the FIR or charge-sheet, or who has been discharged, can only be summoned under Section 319 Cr.P.C. if there is evidence suggesting their involvement in the offence during the course of the trial (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

  7. The right to be heard before being added as an accused under Section 319 Cr.P.C. is generally not mandated, as the provision is aimed at proceeding with the trial based on evidence, not conducting a preliminary inquiry or mini-trial (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

  8. The procedure for summoning a person under Section 319 is to verify their involvement based on evidence, and the court must assess whether there is sufficient material to proceed, without necessarily providing a prior hearing (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

  9. The exercise of power under Section 319 Cr.P.C. is not intended to disrupt the trial process or to allow the summoned person to seek discharge in the same manner as under Section 227 Cr.P.C. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

  10. The order for summoning must be based on the evidence available and the satisfaction of the court regarding the involvement of the person, and it must be passed before the conclusion of the trial or the pronouncement of sentence if a conviction exists (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)

These points collectively emphasize that the primary function of Section 319 Cr.P.C. is to facilitate the trial of all involved parties based on evidence that indicates their participation, without the necessity of prior hearing or mini-trials, and that the power is to be exercised judiciously based on the strength of evidence, not as a tool to prolong or complicate the trial process.


JUDGMENT

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal arises out of an Order dated 03.01.2023 passed by the High Court at Allahabad in Criminal Revision No.4235 of 2022.

3. Briefly stated, the facts of the case according to the Complainant-Respondent No.2 herein are that he got registered an FIR bearing No.186/2018 on 09.06.2018 at around 21.45 at P.S. Hathras Junction District Hathras Uttar Pradesh under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 452 307, 504 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, "IPC") against the appellants herein alleging that appellant Nos. 1-7 (summoned accused) went to the Complainant-Respondent No.2s house and started hurling abuses and firing, which consequently resulted in the Complainants injuries and the death of his two brothers. A charge sheet was filed against the accused persons but the names of the appellants were not mentioned in it as their role was still under investigation.

4. The Complainant filed an application before the Additional Sessions Judge Court No.1, Hathras in Case Crime No.186 of 2018 under Section 319 Cr.P.C. to summon the appellants herein on the basis of his evidence pursuant to which the Additional Sessions Judge passed an Order dated 23.09.2022 summoning th

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