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2024 Supreme(Pat) 464

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
NAWNEET KUMAR PANDEY, J.
Criminal Appeal (SJ) No. 3941 of 2018
(5.8.2024)
Durag Singh Rajpurohit ... Appellant
vs.
State of Bihar & Anr. ... Respondents

Advocates:
For the Appellant : M/s Saket Tiwary, Animesh Gupta, Anurag Singh.
For the Respondents: M/s Ajay Kumar Singh, Smt. Usha Kumari No-1.

Headnote:

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 202 – Postponement of Issue of Process – Section 202(1) Cr.P.C. mandates that where the accused is resident of another area which is not within the territorial jurisdiction of that Magistrate, an enquiry is essential – In the present case the Magistrate has taken cognizance ignoring such mandate – Impugned order set aside. (Paras 8 & 9)

Gora Chand Basu Vs. State of Bihar, Cr.Misc. No. 18554 of 2014 – Relied upon.

Nawneet Kumar Pandey, J.—I have already heard the learned counsel for the parties.

2. This appeal is preferred against the order dated 18.06.2018 passed by the learned special Judge SC/ST cum ADJ-V, Patna in Complaint being Special Case No. 261 of 2018, whereby the learned Special Judge, has taken cognizance against the appellant for the offence punishable under Sections 406 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3(1)(h)(r)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

3. The complainant made allegation that the appellant deals in stone business in Rajasthan. The complainant was working under him and when the father of the complainant fell sick, he returned to his native village in Bihar. The appellant, as per the allegation, came to Patna on l5.04.2018 and requested the complainant to come back to Rajasthan with him, to which the complainant refused. Again the appellant came to Patna on 07.05.2018 with four persons and assaulted the complainant and made scurrilous remarks by taking his caste name and in course of fleeing away he was apprehended by the persons present there.

4. The learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the entire allegations are false. The name of the appellant is Durag Singh Rajpurohit, and not Durgesh Singh. He is a Press Reporter in India News at Barmer, Rajasthan. He never visited Patna in his entire life. Further submission of the learned counsel is that the complainant is a driver of J.C.B. belonging to one Sanjy Singh and a news report dated 21.08.2018 shows that the complainant himself told the media persons that he did not file any complaint. It has also been submitted by the learned counsel that this case is nothing, but an abuse of the process of the court and made prayer to set aside the impugned order.

5. Further submission of the learned counsel for the appellant is that as per the mandate of Section 202(1) of the CrPC, an inquiry is essential if the accused is the resident of another place, which is not in territorial jurisdiction of that Magistrate.

6. The learned counsel for the appellant by relying upon a decision of the coordinate Bench of this Court in Gora Chand Basu and another vs. The State of Bihar and another, passed in Cr.Misc. No. 18554 of 2014, dated 31.07.2017, submitted that in similar case the cognizance was set aside by this Court, as no inquiry was conducted as per the mandate of Section 202(1) of the CrPC. In that case also, the accused was the resident of another place, not within the territorial jurisdiction of that court.

7. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the complainant opposed the submission of the learned counsel for the appellant by stating that the witnesses, examined during the course of inquiry, supported the prosecution case, on the basis whereof cognizance was taken, vide impugned order.

8. In the case of Gora Chand Basu (supra), the accused was the resident of New Delhi. The learned trial court, in that case, took cognizance against the accused on the basis of recitals of the complaint, the solemn affirmation of the complainant, and two witnesses examined on behalf of the complainant. This Court set aside the cognizance order, as it was passed in utter disregard of the mandate of Section 202(1) of the CrPC. Paragraph nos. 8 and 11 of the said decision is quoted hereunder:—

“8. Complainant Shankar Singh and two other witnesses, namely, Navin Kumar Singh and Rajnish Kumar were subsequently examined in this case on 08.10.2012, 26.11.2012 and 17.12.2012 respectively and thereafter process was issued by order dated 22.01.2013. It is explicit that the issuance of process was not suspended for making enquiry under Section 202 Cr.P.C. as the petitioners were not resident of the territorial jurisdiction of the court concerned. The Supreme Court in the case of Udai Shankar Awasthi vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and Another, (2013) 2 SCC 435 has held that suspension of issuance of process is commendatory where the accused resides in an area beyond the terri

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