The main legal point established in the judgment is that the summoning of an additional accused under Section 319 Criminal Procedure Code should be based on reasonable satisfaction from the evidence collected, and the court must exercise judicial discretion to advance the cause of criminal justice. The evidence must disclose the commission of the offense by the person summoned.

Satish Kumar Mittal, J. - This criminal revision has been filed for setting aside the order dated 22.11.2003 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fatehgarh Sahib, vide which the three petitioners have been summoned as an additional accused under Section 319 Criminal Procedure Code to face the trial under Section 306 Indian Penal Code.

2. The three petitioners are father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased wife. In the instant case, FIR was lodged on 9.1.2000 against four accused under Section 306 Indian Penal Code including the petitioners and one Sukhchain Singh, brother-in-law of the deceased. The said FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint made by the mother of the deceased after 23 days of the death of her daughter, who died on 16.12.1999 by consuming some poisonous substance. In the complaint, it was stated that the daughter of the complainant was married to Kulwinder Singh about two years ago, who is serving in the Indian Navy and had gone to his place of posting after some days of his marriage. She occasionally visited the matrimonial home of her daughter who was residing at her in-laws house in village Landran. During the absence of the husband, the father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law of her daughter used to harass her for bringing less dowry. They gave beatings to her daughter many times and compelled her to bring more dowry. On 15.12.1999, her daughter came to village Landran and told that her mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were pressuring her to bring a sum of Rs. 50,000/-; and they had also threatened her that in case she did not bring the said amount, she would be done to death. Since there was no arrangement for the said amount, her daughter was sent back to her in-laws house with the assurance that her father would bring the amount on Sunday. On the next day, a telephonic message was received that her daughter Sukhwinder Kaur had taken some poisonous substance and was lying in the hospital where she had died on 16.12.1999.

3. The matter was investigated by the police. During the investigation, it was found that the deceased Sukhwinder Kaur did not die due to any harassment made by the members of her in-laws family nor any dowry was ever demanded. However, as per the investigation of the Deputy Superintendent of Police, it was found that Sukhchain Singh, brother-in-law of the deceased Sukhwinder Kaur misbehaved with her on 11.12.1999 at the time of marriage in village Chandva Kalan, due to which she felt insulted and consumed some poisonous substance and died herself. On the said report, the challan was only filed against the said Sukhchain Singh under Section 306 Indian Penal Code and the three petitioners were found to be innocent and kept in column No. 2.

4. The prosecution, after examining the complainant, Nachhatter Kaur as PW2 filed an application under Section 319 Criminal Procedure Code for summoning the petitioners as an additional accused. The said application was allowed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge vide order dated 22.11.2003 by passing the following order which has been impugned in the instant petition:-

"Accused on bail with Sh. S.K. Sood, Adv.

PW Nachhatter Kaur bound down for today is present and examined. Addl. P.P. for the State moved an application under section 319 Criminal Procedure Code for summoning Gurmit Singh, Shamsher Kaur and Tejwant Kaur as they have been named by PW-2 Nachhatter Kaur in her examination-in-chief because they have taken active participation in the commission of the offence. In view of the law laid down by the Honble Supreme Court of India with regard to summoning of the accused shown in column 2 of the report under section 173 Criminal Procedure Code this application of the prosecution is allowed. Gurmit Singh, Shamsher Kaur and Tejwant Kaur residents of village Lohakheri are ordered to be summoned to face trial under section 306 Indian Penal Code for 13