Important points:
The accused should have knowledge or reasons to believe the other person concerned is an offender or accused in a case and then should have the intention to screen such offender and with such intention, he should have given an information in respect of the offence in question involving the said offender, knowing or believing the information to be false

ORDER :

1. The prayer in the afore captioned Criminal Miscellaneous Case filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. is as follows:

“.....to allow this Criminal Miscellaneous Case and quash Anx. A Final Report (B Charge submitted in Crime No. 698/2011 of Neeleswaram Police Station, Kasaragode district against the petitioner/accused No. 6 now pending as C.P. No. 59/2015 on the files of the Court of the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class-II, Hosdurg, so as to secure the ends of justice.”

2. Heard Sri. P. Vijaya Bhanu, learned Senior Counsel instructed by Ms. Sruthi Bhatt, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner/accused No. 6 and Sri. B. Jayasurya, learned Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent.

3. The petitioner herein has now been arrayed as additional accused No. 6 in the impugned Crime No. 698/2011 of Neeleswaram Police Station, Kasaragod, which is now pending as C.P. No. 59/2015, on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Hosdurg. Originally, there were five accused persons in the abovesaid Crime No. 698/2011 of Neeleswaram Police Station and Police after investigation has filed Anx. J Final report/charge sheet as against the said original accused Nos. 1 to 5, which later led to the pendency of Sessions Case, S.C. No. 3/2014, in which the offences alleged are those punishable under Secs.143, 147, 148, 447, 323, 324, 356, 506(ii) read with Section 149 of the IPC and Sections 3(1)(x) & (xi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The allegations against original accused Nos. 1 to 5 in the said proceedings are to the effect that, on 18-11-2011 at about 11.30 a.m. while Charge Witnesses CWs. 1 and 2, who belong to Scheduled Tribe were doing tapping work in the property of CW-3, the said accused persons coming to five in number had allegedly, due to existing property dispute with CW-3, formed themselves into an unlawful assembly and allegedly trespassed into the property of CW-3 and assaulted CWs. 1 and 2. Further that accused 2 and 3 had abused CWs. 1 and 2 calling their caste names and as such accused persons 1 to 5 have committed the aforesaid offences. The police after investigation has filed Anx. J Final report/charge-sheet in this case as against said accused Nos. 1 to 5 and Sessions Case S.C. No. 3/2014 is pending on the file of Principal Sessions Court, Kasaragod.

4. Later, allegations have been raised against the petitioner herein, arraying him as additional accused No. 6 in the said Crime No. 698/2011 of Neeleswaram Police Station, alleging that the petitioner herein, as additional accused No. 6, has committed the offence punishable under Sections 3(2)(vi) of the SC/ST (POA) Act, 1989.

5. The said allegations against the petitioner were also investigated and final report/charge sheet was separately filed against the petitioner herein as additional accused No. 6, which is referred for short as “B Charge-sheet” against the petitioner as additional A6 therein. The brief of the allegations against the petitioner is that, with the intention to screen accused 3 and 4 in the abovesaid crime from legal punishment, the petitioner, who is medical Doctor, had created false documents and wound certificates etc, to the effect that accused 3 and 4 were medically treated by the petitioner on 18-11-2011 at about 11 a.m. and as such, the petitioner has committed the abovesaid offence. Annexure A is the copy of the impugned B charge sheet filed by the Neeleswaram Police in Crime No. 698/2011 against the petitioner herein, which is pending against him as Committal Proceedings, C.P. No. 59/2015 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Hosdurg.

6. The petitioner would point out that accused Nos. 3 and 4, namely, one Smt. Chandrakumari and one Smt. Jayasree, had come to the Nursing Home of the petitioner on 18-11-2011 at about 11.00 a.m. for treatment, complaining that they were assaulted by one Sri. T.K. Narayanan and others on the previous day (17-11-2011) at