All the three cases are dealt with together and a common order is passed, since the issues involved and the parties involved are the same in all the above three cases.

2. The Criminal Original Petition will be taken as the base case and the parties will be identified in accordance with their nomenclature in the Criminal Original Petition.

3. Brief facts of the case :

3.1. On 07.10.1987, 6 named persons and a few others, armed with deadly weapons took away the father and brother of the third respondent in a Van at about 12.00 Noon. In the said incident, it is alleged that the above said persons took away certain articles and also gold chain from the mother of the third respondent. On the same day, at about 5.00 pm, the third respondent went to the second respondent Police Station and complained about the incident and the same was reduced into writing and an FIR was registered in Crime No.593 of 1987 for the offences under Sections 397 and 364 of IPC.

3.2. The second respondent took up the investigation in the case and in the course of investigation, 7 more accused persons were added based on the confession given by the named accused and totally 13 persons were made as accused in the case. Some of the accused persons were arrested and some of them surrendered before the Court. In the course of investigation, the FIR was altered and certain provisions were added to the existing offences and an altered FIR came to be registered for the offences under Sections 147, 148, 120(B), 450, 395 r/w 397, 365, 342 and 392 IPC. This alteration was made after adding 7 accused persons as mentioned above.

3.3. The Investigating Officer examined 27 witnesses and recorded their statements and also seized certain objects under the cover of Mahazar in the presence of the witnesses and after completion of the investigation, a final report was filed before the Judicial Class Magistrate, Tiruchendur on 05.05.1988 and the same was taken on file in PRC No.2 of 1988. Due to bifurcation of District, the criminal case was transferred from the Sathankulam Police Station to the newly formed Thattarmadam Police Station and the connected case diary was also transferred and sent to the newly formed Police Station on 21.03.1990.

3.4. The petitioner herein (who was A-8 at that point of time and is presently ranked as A-7) filed Crl.O.P. No.10177 of 1988 to quash the final report. The case papers were sent to the High Court during the pendency of the Criminal Original Petition. Subsequently, the Crl.OP came to be dismissed on 21.02.1991 and at the time of passing the order of dismissal, High Court had specifically directed the case records to be sent back to the lower Court namely, Judicial Magistrate Court, Tiruchendur.

3.5. In the year 2000, a Judicial Magistrate Court was newly formed at Sathankulam. In spite of the order of the High Court, the case bundles never got transferred to the Judicial Magistrate Court, Tiruchendur and as a result of the same, no case papers went to the newly formed Judicial Magistrate Court, Sathankulam. With the available records, the Judicial Magistrate Court, Sathankulam took those records on file in PRC No.63 of 2000. There was absolutely no movement in the case and the whole proceedings came to a standstill. In the meantime, A-1, A-6 and A-10 died. A-3, A-7, A-11, A-12 and A-13 are absconding accused and NBWs are pending against them and due to the non-availability of the Court case bundle, the pending NBWs were not executed.

3.6. The petitioner herein also filed a petition for withdrawal of the case before the Judicial Magistrate, Sathankulam in CRL MP Nos. 3373 and 3580 of 2015 and both those petitions were dismissed by the learned Judicial Magistrate by orders dated 21.07.2015. The petitioner has also filed WP(MD) No.17044 of 2015, claiming compensation and the same is also pending.

3.7. While so, the petitioner has filed CRL.O.P.(MD) No.15813 of 2015 to quash PRC No.63 of 2000, on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Sat