JUDGMENT - Dr. PRATIBHA UPASANI, J.:---This criminal writ petition is filed by the petitioners/original accused, being aggrieved by the order of issuance of process, dated 16th January, 1993 passed by the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Palghar, under sections 447, 452, 427, 504, 506(2) read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. This order of issuance of process was passed by the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Palghar, against the present petitioners/accused, after taking cognizance of the complaint dated 16th January, 1993, filed by the complainant/respondent No. 1 herein-Kaliram Gajanan Sankhe.

2. Few facts, which are required to be stated to appreciate the controversy involved, are as follows:

Petitioner No. 1/Shantaram Balya Sankhe, at the relevant time, was Sarpanch, petitioner No. 2/Khanderao Chaintaman Pimpale was Upa-Sarpanch and petitioner Nos. 3 to 15 were members/office-bearers of the Gram panchayat, village Kolwade, taluka Palghar, District Thane.

3. As per the averments made by the complainant/Kaliram Gajanan Sankhe in his complaint dated 16th January, 1993, the complainant was residing along with his family members in the said village and had his own house at Kolwade within the area of Gaothan which was the ancestral house of the complainant. There was a partition between the complainant and his family members of the ancestral house in the year 1984. The complainant carried out repairs in the year 1986 of the portion of the house, which came into his possession and occupation. The verandah was reconstructed with slab thereon. The complainant's son was unemployed. Therefore, the complainant started a grocery shop in the verandah for his son. The Gaothan land was in occupation and possession of the complainant's family for generations.

4. As per the story of the complainant, the house of the complainant and the verandah, so also the construction carried out by him in it, was legal and valid. The said construction was done in the year 1960 and repairs were carried in the year 1981. The said construction did not abut on any public road, nor obstructed any one. However, on the instigation of petitioner No. 2 Khanderao Pimpale, Sarpanch i.e. petitioner No. 1 had acted illegally with the assistance of other members/office-bearers of the Gram panchayat and decided to demolish the house of the complainant and they misused their office and took police help and when they went to the house of the complainant, they allegedly said that if the complainant obstructed, they would run a bulldozer and they would finish the complainant. Thus all the accused gave threat of killing the complainant. They also had brought crane with them. The complainant told them that no show cause notice was given to him and that his construction was legal. When the attempt was made to stop them, the sons of the complainant were arrested under section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The complainant was saying again and again that his construction was not encroaching upon anybody's property or public road, nor was it illegal, and was in existence for many years within Gaothan area. The allegation of the complainant is that, in spite of this position, without giving prior notice and with mala fide intention and with misuse of power, the accused, in furtherance of their illegal conspiracy amongst each other, entered the complainant's verandah and damaged the complainant's shop and with the help of crane demolished construction of the complainant and caused damage to the extent of Rs. 70,000/-. They also gave threat of killing the complainant. Hence, the allegation of the complainant is that the accused have misused their official position and committed illegality and committed criminal offence to suppress the complainant. Hence, being aggrieved, the complainant filed the complaint in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Palghar under sections 447, 452, 427, 504, 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code and prayed that action in acc

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