IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Manoj Kumar Ohri, J.
Tushar Mittal & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
State (NCT Of Delhi) & Ors. - Respondents
Crl.M.C. No. 281/2020 and Crl.M.A. No. 1218/2020
Decided On : 27-08-2021
Section 482 Cr.P.C. - Discharge of Accused - Sections 354/354A/354D IPC - The court discussed the legal provisions under Sections 227 and 228 of the Cr.P.C. and the principles established by the Supreme Court in Sajjan Kumar v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Amit Kapoor v. Ramesh Chander. The court emphasized the limited scope of judicial scrutiny at the stage of framing of charges and the need to establish a prima facie case against the accused. The court found that the ingredients of the alleged offences were made out and no case of discharge was made out in favor of the petitioner.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought setting aside of the order discharging him for the offences punishable under Sections 354/354A/354D IPC in FIR No. 227/2017. The complainant alleged sexual harassment and molestation by the accused, who was her superior at work. The Trial Court discharged the petitioner citing inconsistencies in the complainant's statements and lack of specific details in the allegations. The Sessions Court allowed the revision petitions and directed the Trial Court to frame charges against the petitioner.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the ingredients of the alleged offences were made out and no case of discharge was made out in favor of the petitioner.
Issues: Inconsistencies in the complainant's statements, lack of specific details in the allegations, and the scope of judicial scrutiny at the stage of framing of charges.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the limited scope of judicial scrutiny at the stage of framing of charges and the need to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
Final Decision: The captioned petitions were dismissed, and the miscellaneous applications were disposed of as in fructuous. A copy of this order was communicated electronically to the concerned Trial Court.
ORDER
Manoj Kumar Ohri, J. (Oral). - The captioned petitions have been filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. on behalf of the petitioner seeking setting aside of the common order dated 04.11.2019, whereby the learned Addl. Sessions Judge-02, District East, Karkardooma Courts, Delhi has disposed of revision petitions filed by the State and the complainant/respondent No. 2. Both the revision petitions were filed against the order dated 10.04.2019 passed by the learned MM, Mahila Court-01, East District, Karkardooma Courts, Delhi, whereby the present petitioner/accused was discharged for the offences punishable under Sections 354/354A/354D IPC in FIR No. 227/2017 registered at P.S. Preet Vihar, Delhi lodged at the instance of respondent No. 2.
2. The brief facts of the case, as illustrated by the Sessions Court in the impugned order (the name of the victim has been redacted) are as under:
"2. Briefly stated the facts of the case are that the present case was registered on the statement of complainant 'R' who has alleged in her complaint that she was working at Batra 's Homeopathy Clinic as a City Trainer ever since 13th Dec. 2013 till 22n/Sept., 2017. She had lodged a written complaint against Dr. Tushar Mittal, the City Head of Dr. Batra's Clinic on 28th Sept., 2017. Based on the complaint, a FIR was formally lodged on 08.10.2018. She has leveled allegations of sexual harassment and molestation against the accused. She has in her complaint stated that for the last 7-8 months prior to her lodging the complaint, the accused had been torturing her and troubling her over trivial, innocuous issues. She has alleged that the accused would come to her room/cabin on some or the other pretext and would do 'galat harkat' (wrong deeds) with her and would touch her inappropriately. As alleged, the accused would also tell her that if she acceded to his demands, she would be benefited. The accused would give her monetary allurements such as a pay hike etc. in lieu of her acceding to his demands. The accused was peeved and started harassing her. The complainant stated that she had a fear of losing her job if she tells anyone about the deeds of the accused and for this reason, she kept quiet and didn't share her ordeal with anyone. The complainant stated in her complaint that to minimize any kind of interaction with the accused, she stopped having lunch with her colleagues and would remain cooped up in her cabin all day long. She further stated that to avoid any unwanted meeting with the accused, she would go for the meetings when specifically called for the same. The complainant further stated that she made concerted efforts to convince the accused to stay away from her. However, the accused didn't relent and continued to mentally harass her in all possible ways. The complainant stated in her complaint that when she could not bear the mental torture any further, she shared her psychological ordeal with her family members and after that her 'bhaisahab' would at times come to pick her from her workplace. The complainant further alleged that the accused in order to torment her colluded with one Ms. Aditi, HR Head and got a show cause notice served on her. The grounds mentioned in the show cause notice were frivolous just to harass her. She was called at the office branch at South Extension on 22.09.2017 and asked to tender her resignation. When the complainant refused to resign, she was handed over a service termination letter. She then, lodged the complaint against the accused. After FIR was registered, investigation was conducted and statement of the complainant u/s 164 Cr.P.C was recorded in which the complainant reiterated the allegations made in her complaint. After completion of the investigation, charge-sheet was filed u/s 354/354A/354DIPC. "
3. The Trial Court while passing the aforesaid order of discharge compared the two statements of the complainant recorded under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C. and opined that the statements were inconsistent. Whi
At the stage of framing charges, the Court should only consider whether a prima facie case is made out, without conducting a mini trial or examining the probative value of evidence.
The limited scope of inquiry at the stage of framing charges and the prima facie nature of the offences were central legal principles established in the judgment.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of considering the material on record and ascertaining if the essential ingredients of an offence are prima facie made out at the st....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for a prima facie case and the evaluation of material by the court before framing charges under sections 227 and 228 of the Cr.P.C.
Court confirmed that charges must be based on prima facie evidence during the discharge stage, and only extremely implausible allegations warrant quashing of charges.
The necessity to establish a prima facie case at the stage of framing of charge and the power of the Sessions Court to commit a case for trial if an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessio....
The central legal point established in the judgment is that the Trial Court should exercise its judicial mind to determine whether a case for trial has been made out and should not conduct a roving e....
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