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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Arvind Singh Sangwan, J.
Sanjeev Kumar @ Happy - Appellant
Versus
State Of Punjab & Anr. - Respondents
CRR No. 660 of 2020
Decided On : 08-03-2021
Section 319 - Criminal Procedure Code - The court discussed the application of Section 319 of the Cr.P.C. and the power of the court to summon accused persons during the trial. The court emphasized that the power under Section 319 should be exercised only in cases where there are circumstances leading predominantly towards the ex-facie innocence of the accused and that the accused's right to life and liberty can be curtailed according to the procedure prescribed by the law. The court also highlighted the importance of protecting individuals from unnecessary harassment by the police and the need for free and fair investigation.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought to set aside the order summoning him to face trial under Section 319 of the Cr.P.C. The case involved a complaint by the informant regarding a dispute at a family function, resulting in the death of a person. The petitioner was declared a proclaimed offender and his anticipatory bail was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner had manipulated in obtaining interim bail by concealing crucial facts and misrepresenting the situation. It emphasized that the petitioner was a prime accused and that no illegality or fault was found in the impugned order. The petition was dismissed with costs to be paid to the victim.
Issues: The issues involved the application of Section 319 of the Cr.P.C., the petitioner's manipulation in obtaining interim bail, and the concealment of crucial facts in the application filed under Section 319 Cr.P.C.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the finding that the petitioner had manipulated in obtaining interim bail by concealing crucial facts and misrepresenting the situation. It emphasized that the petitioner was a prime accused and that no illegality or fault was found in the impugned order.
Final Decision: The petition was dismissed with costs to be paid by the petitioner to the victim within a specified period. The petitioner was directed to surrender before the trial Court and apply for regular bail, with the trial Court instructed to dispose of the regular bail application within a specified period.
JUDGMENT
Arvind Singh Sangwan, J. - Prayer in this revision petition is for setting-aside the order dated 10.10.2019 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar, vide which the petitioner has been summoned under Section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short 'Cr.P.C.'), to face the trial.
2. Brief facts of the case are that on 24.08.2018, the informant -Vijay Kumar Malhotra, made a complaint to the police that a dinner was arranged for 5-6 families for celebrating the party of his daughter-in-law and some dispute arose with his nephew Honey Malhotra with Rishal Saini, his father Rajdeep Saini. Due to the said incident, his nephew came back to the house and after some time, Sanjeev Kumar @ Lovely armed with iron rod, Sanjeev Kumar Happy armed with Bodkin (Sua), Rishal Saini armed with baseball bat, Rajdeep Saini, armed with Bodkin (Sua), Kiran Kumar armed with dang, Pargat Singh armed with Kirach, Krishna Arora armed with baseball bat, Honey Singh armed with Bodkin (Sua), Rajinder Singh @ Rinku Dhot armed with Bodkin (Sua), Rakesh Kumar @ Rimpa armed with baseball bat, came in front of the house and they were accompanied by 7-8 unidentified persons and they started abusing them. At that time, his relative Amarjeet Singh, Kulwinder Singh @ Kinda, Prabhjot Singh, Randhir Singh Malhotra, the councilors of the area or their relatives came. Sanjeev Kumar @ Lovely raised a voice that they should be taught a lesson and gave an iron punch blow on the right side of the face of Kulwinder Singh @ Kinda, who fell down on the motorcycle standing near to him, then Sanjeev Kumar @ Happy gave Bodkin (Sua) blow on the head of Kulwinder Singh. Then Pargat Singh gave kirch blow on the back side of the head of Kulwinder Singh. Thereafter, Krishna Arora caught the arms of Kulwinder Singh @ Kinda and Honey Singh gave Bodkin (Sua) blow on the back side of Kulwinder Singh @ Kinda. Then, Kiran Kumar started beating Kulwinder Singh with his baseball bat and then Rajinder Singh @ Dhot gave Bodkin (Sua) blow on the back side of Kulwinder Singh. Thereafter, Rakesh Kumar @ Rimpa gave baseball bat blow on the shoulders of Kulwinder Singh. When the complainant tried to stop the fighting, the accused persons started beating them and they raised an alarm and thereafter, all the accused persons ran away from the spot. Thereafter, a vehicle was arranged and the victim Kulwinder Singh @ Kinda was admitted to Civil Hospital, where doctor declared him dead.
3. Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that during the investigation, Rishal Saini, Rajdeep Saini, Kiran Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar @ Lovely, Rajinder Singh @ Dhot, Krishna Arora, Rakesh Kumar @ Rimpa, were found innocent whereas the other accused persons including the petitioner were found involved in commission of the crime. 02 accused persons namely Pargat Singh @ Pagga, Harjit Singh @ Honey, were arrested and report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. was submitted. Sanjeev Kumar @ Happy and Binku Dhobi, could not be arrested and they were declared proclaimed offender.
4. It is worth noticing that the petitioner had filed an application for anticipatory bail before the trial Court, which was dismissed and thereafter, he filed CRM-M No.35147 of 2019, which was dismissed by this Court on 28.08.2019. The operative part of the order dismissing his anticipatory bail, reads as under:-
"FIR in the present case came into being on the statement of Vijay Kumar Malhotra; in which it was stated that on 24.08.2018 at about 9:30 PM there was a function at his house on the occasion of birthday of his daughterin-law. When most of the guests were yet to reach, his nephew Honey Malhotra was away from house and he had an altercation with Rishal Saini. Due to programme at house, the nephew of the complainant came back to home. However, after 10-15 minutes, one Sanjeev Kumar @ Lovely, the present petitioner Sanjeev Kumar @ Happy and other named persons, armed with their respective weapons reached the house of the complainant. All
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