The court emphasized that under Section 319 of Cr.P.C., summoning additional accused requires strong and specific evidence, not mere allegations or general references.

JUDGMENT

Mrs. Manisha Batra, J.

The petitioner herein is seeking quashing of order dated 14.07.2023 as passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, Special Court, Kaithal whereby an application for summoning four persons namely, Mohinder, Kelo Devi, Seema and Sohan Lal as additional accused in Sessions Case bearing CIS No.SC/152/2022 titled as State of Haryana v. Deepak arising out of FIR No.99 dated 09.04.2022 registered under Sections 120-B, 376 (2) (n), 406, 420 and 506 of IPC at Police Station Kalayat, District Kaithal, been dismissed.

2. The facts relevant for the purpose of disposal of this petition are that the aforementioned FIR had been registered on the basis of complaint submitted by the "R" (name withheld) alleging that her husband had died on 12.05.2021 and her brother-in-law Deepak had cheated her by withdrawing the amount of compensation from her account by procuring her signatures in a fraudulent manner. Accused Deepak had extended beatings to her and committed rape upon her and had even threatened to eliminate her children and herself if she disclosed about this fact to anyone. The above named four persons who are father, mother, sister and husband of sister respectively of Deepak had supported him and forced the complainant to become wife of Deepak. As such, she prayed for taking action against them. During investigation, the accused Deepak had been arrested whereas the above named four persons had been found to be innocent and had not been arrested and challaned. Offence under Section 120B of IPC was deleted. Challan was presented as against accused Deepak who is facing trial under Sections 376 (2) (n), 406, 420 and 506 of IPC. After recording statement of the complainant in chief, the complainant/prosecution had moved an application for summoning the above named four persons as additional accused which was dismissed by the learned Special Court vide the impugned order.

3. It is submitted in the revision petition and learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that the impugned order is not sustainable in the eyes of law and is liable to be set aside as ample evidence in the form of testimony of the petitioner had appeared on the record of the Special Court to prove that the proposed additional accused were also involved in the fraud/cheating played by the accused Deepak in transferring her money fraudulently in their account. They were specifically named in the FIR. The challan report was filed against the accused already arraigned only and the proposed accused were wrongly declared to be innocent. The learned Special Court without considering all these facts, had erred in dismissing the application. Therefore, he has urged that the present revision petition deserves to be allowed and the above named four persons are liable to be arraigned and summoned as additional accused to face trial along with the accused Deepak already facing trial.

4. The respondent-State has filed status report submitting therein that after conducting thorough investigation in the matter, the proposed accused were found to be innocent and that is why they had not been arrested and challaned.

5. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned State counsel at considerable length and have carefully gone through the material which has been placed on record.

6. Section 319 of Cr.P.C. empowers the Court to add any person, not being the accused before it, but against whom there appears during trial sufficient evidence indicating his involvement in the offence, as an accused and direct him to be tried along with other accused. The principle of law with reference to exercise of jurisdiction under this Section has been well settled by the Constitution Bench of Hon'ble Superme Court in a celebrated pronouncement cited as Hardeep Singh and others v. State of Punjab and others, (2014) 3 SCC 92, wherein it was observed that the power under Section 319 Cr.P.C. is discretionary and an extraordinary power. It has to