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2009 Supreme(Bom) 1413

High Court of Judicature at Bombay
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MRIDULA BHATKAR
Noorul Huda Maqbool Ahmed – Appellant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra through Public Prosecutor Criminal Side & Others - Respondent
Criminal Revision Application No.357 of 2003
Decided on : 16-10-2009

Advocates appeared:
For the Applicant:Vijay Pradhan, Y.H. Muchhala Sr.Advocates a/w Sagheer Ahmed, A. Khan Farooq A. Chaudhary, Javed Patel, Akhlaque Solkar and Vaibhav Nagrekar i/b Sagheer Ahmed, Advocates.
For the Respondents:R2, Shrikant Shivde, R3 & R10, M.K. Kocharekar, R4 to R9, S.V. Kotwal, Advocates, Y.S. Shinde, APP.

Headnote:Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 34, 307 and 107 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Section 378 Discharge of police officers Police officers went to site from where police firing was continued Accused Joint Commissioner asked persons inside bakery to come out Not came out He ordered to break open the doors and firing began Total 8 persons died Sessions Court discharged accused Ground police firing was without aggravation facts show police first used tear gas to let inmates come out Repeatedly asked them to surrender but all of waste Reliance on facts and circumstances not doubted No evidence that there was any intention to intentionally kill the inmates of bakery Actually efforts were made to arrest them with normal force Section 34 not applicable While framing charges Court must see whether offence that is charged was really committed No case under Section 107 either Order of Court needs no interference. To attract Section 34 one has to find out whether there is an act done in furtherance of the common intention or not. The intention is said to be common, means it is shared. The intention in the mind of the one should be known to the others. Thus, it should be necessarily followed by the prior concert. The case of the prosecution even if it is accepted entirely as true the evidence does not reveal that the intention to murder or attempt to commit murder was present.

       This circumstance itself cannot nullify good faith behind giving orders and taking search and arrest. The statements of the witnesses disclose that there were incidents of intermittent firing of some bullet shots from the terrace of the Bakery. The entire area was charged with hostile emotions between Hindu-Muslim communities and the atmosphere was full of tension and distrust. Under such circumstances the order to break open the door was very much within the power of the respondent No. 2.

        The order of the Sessions Judge be quashed and set aside and the matter be remanded back as the prosecution intends to add new charges under Section 111 of the Indian Penal Code and/or under Section 442 read with Sections 111 and 113 of the Indian Penal Code against respondent No. 2 and also other accused who were discharged. The learned counsel has pointed out that if the words spoken or any reaction of the accused is such that he wished to convey by words to his co-accused and expected immediate reaction in a particular manner by the co-accused, then that action is to be considered as instigation or incitement.

       The incident cannot be considered in isolation but with the prior events which also a part of the record. The Jt. Commissioner of Police/respondent No. 2 was in the jeep. This staying away from the closed premises of the Bakery where the massacre of the innocent persons had taken place, was illegal omission or not? Even by microscopic view the intentional non-doing is not disclosed. A fact of presence while performing the duty on the spot is not sufficient to attribute the respondents a status of confederates.

       It should be within the legal frame work. Howsoever be the serious or heinous offence, an innocent cannot be put to a trial. There is no sufficient evidence against respondent No. 2 and other respondents that they either had common intention to murder the inmates in the Bakery or have committed or abetted the offence of criminal trespass. The order of the learned trial Judge is just and legal and warrants no interference.

       

Judgment :-

Heard finally by consent of both the parties.


1] This matter is the offshoot of the 1993 communal riots in Mumbai. On 9/1/1993 the riots were at peak in Mumbai and on that day at around 9.30 a.m. the police officers from Payadhuni police station noticed bullet shots were fired towards them from the terrace of Suleman Bakery. The Bakery is adjacent to the mosque and in the same building on the upper floor there is Mothersa .The police warned the miscreants on the terrace of Suleman Bakery to stop the firing, however, it went on intermittently. The Police Inspector from Payadhuni police station reported this incident to the Control Room and asked for the help. One wireless van came to the spot and also noticed some shots were fired from the building of Soleman Bakery. On receipt of wireless message to the Control Room Jt. Commissioner of Police Mr.R.D.Tyagi went to the spot alongwith the team of the Special Operation Squad (SOS). Mr. Tyagi who is accused no.1 in the present case ordered to use the cylinders of tear gas and asked the miscreants to surrender. However, it was of no use. The persons in the bakery pelted bottles, acid bulbs and stones towards the police force. Mr.Tyagi thereafter ordered the squad to enter the bakery. However, the door of the bakery was bolted from inside and it was not opened even after the police asked them to open. Mr.Tyagi thereafter directed the police force to break open the door of the bakery and directed the police to arrest the miscreants. The police while arresting the people opened fire and 12 persons got injured and 8 persons succumbed to death due to bullet injuries. The police could not recover any fire arm except swords and sticks.


2] Thereafter Mr.Tyagi left the place. The complaints were lodged after the riots against the tyrants for bias and one sided action of the police which resulted into the enquiry by the One Man Commission i.e. Shrikrishna Commission. The police were held responsible in certain cases and the State of Maharashtra after accepting the report of the Commission decided to take action and launched prosecution against the police officers who had taken the law in hand. The present matter is one of them.


3] The State has lodged the complaint against 18 police personnels for the offences punishable u/s 302 and 307 r/w section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. In Sessions Case (no.1171/2001) all the 18 accused moved application for discharge under section 227 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the learned Sessions Judge while deciding the application by his order dated 16/4/2003 discharged the present respondents and rejected the application of the remaining accused. The State of Maharashtra did not challenge the said order, however, the private party i.e. Victim has challenged this order and hence this Revision Application.


4] The learned counsel Shri.Pradhan has submitted that at the time of discharge the learned Sessions Judge ought to have appreciated that all the police personnels of SOS were inside the building and had common intention to kill the defenceless persons. The learned Sessions Judge has erred in not appreciating a set of statements of the witnesses in which they have stated that they were beaten up with the butt of the rifles and with the kicks and fists. These acts of assault ought to have been taken into account by the learned Sessions Judge. The order given by respondent no. 2 Mr.Tyagi to break open the door of the Bakery is an act violative to his authority, power and if he would not have taken such a drastic steps the further disaster of murders would not have taken place.


5] The learned counsel Mr. Pradhan has further argued that the Trial Judge has erred in weighing and appreciating the evidence at the stage of discharge and the Judge has erred in classifying the accused in two groups as the one who fired bullets and the other who did not. Such distinction cannot be made at this embrio stage. The learned Sessions Judge did not appreciat


































































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