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2009 Supreme(All) 858

HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
R.K.Rastogi
CHOTEY LAL
Versus
STATE OF U P
Decided On : 20 March 2009
Criminal Revision No. 1462 of 1999

Advocates Appeared:
D.P.SRIVASTAVA, SURESH PRASAD SINGH,

The Revisional Court can set aside findings of the Trial Court but cannot substitute its own findings and cannot make a decision beyond its jurisdiction.

Headnote:

Revision - Criminal Revision - The court held that the findings of fact recorded by the Magistrate were erroneous and were not based on evidence. The Additional Sessions Judge had jurisdiction to set aside the findings but could not substitute his own findings. The order directing the Magistrate to summon the accused persons under sections 420, 465, 466, 468 and 471 IPC was passed in excess of jurisdiction. The matter was remanded to the Magistrate for rehearing.

Fact of the Case:

The complainant filed a complaint against the accused under various sections of the IPC. The Magistrate initially dismissed the complaint, but it was later allowed by the Sessions Judge. The accused moved an application for recall of the summoning order, which was allowed by the Magistrate. The complainant filed a revision against this order.

Finding of the Court:

The Additional Sessions Judge held that there was sufficient material to summon the accused persons and set aside the order of dismissal passed by the Magistrate. However, the court found that the Additional Sessions Judge had exceeded his jurisdiction by passing the order to summon the accused persons.

Issues: Scope of criminal revision, jurisdiction of the Revisional Court, re-appreciation of evidence, and consideration of defence version and evidence at the stage of passing order for discharge.

Ratio Decidendi: The Revisional Court can set aside the findings of the Trial Court but cannot substitute its own findings. The court cannot re-appreciate the evidence and make a decision beyond its jurisdiction. The defence version and evidence are to be considered at the proper stage during trial.

Final Decision: The order directing the Magistrate to summon the accused persons under sections 420, 465, 466, 468 and 471 IPC was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the Magistrate for rehearing.

R. K. RASTOGI, J.

This is a revision against the judgment and order dated 30. 7. 1999 passed by Additional Sessions Judge 1st Basti in Criminal Revision No. 165 of 1997 Ram Chandra Tripathi v. State.

The list has been revised. Learned Counsel for the revisionist and learned AGA are present. None is present for the complainant-opposite party No. 2.

2. I have heard the learned Counsel for the revisionist as well as learned AGA.

3. The facts relevant for disposal of this revision are that the complainant-opposite party No. 2 had filed a complaint against the accused-revisionist under sec tions 420, 465, 466, 467, 468 and 471 IPC, Police

Station Dhanghata, District Sant Kabir Nagar which was registered as Criminal Complaint Case No. 603 of 1992 Ram Chandra Tripathi v. Hanuman Sharan Pandey and others. The learned Magistrate after taking evidence of the complainant and his witnesses under sections 200 and 202 Cr. P. C. was of the view that no case against the accused-revisionist was made out and he dismissed the complaint under section 203 Cr. P. C. vide his order dated 19. 7. 1997. Aggrieved with that order the complainant-opposite party No. 2 filed criminal revision No. 425 of 1993 in the Court of Sessions Judge, Basti who allowed the revision and remanded the matter to the Magistrate for hearing the complainant on the point of summoning the accused persons in the light of the observations made in the body of the judgment. This time, the learned Magistrate after hearing the complainant was of the view that a prima facie case was made out against the accused persons under sections 420, 465, 466, 468 and 471 IPC and so he passed an order on 12. 12. 1994 summoning the ac cused persons.

4. The accused feeling aggrieved with the above order moved an application dated 25. 2. 1995 (Paper No. 12-B) supported with an affidavit (Paper No. 13-B) for recall of the above order dated 12. 12. 1994. This application was allowed by the Magistrate vide his order dated 5. 5. 1997; the summon ing order was recalled and the complaint was dismissed under section 203 Cr. P. C.

5. The complainant feeling ag grieved with the above order filed Crl. Re vision No. 165 of 1997. This revision was heard and decided by Sri U. C. Tiwari, 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Basti. After hearing the revision the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Basti was of the view that there was sufficient material to summon the accused persons and the order passed by the Magistrate dismissing the complaint was erroneous. He, therefore, set aside the order of dismissal passed by the Magistrate and passed an order directing the Magis trate to summon the accused persons under sections 420, 465, 466, 468 and 471ipc. Ag grieved with that order, the accused revi sionists filed this revision.

6. It is to be seen that the scope of criminal revision is limited one. A Revisional Court while hearing a revision can hold that the lower Court had not properly appreciated the evidence and can set aside the findings recorded by the Trial Court but the revisional Court has got no juris diction to substitute its own findings in place of the findings of the Trial Court. In the present case, the position is that the learned Additional Sessions Judge had ju risdiction to hold that the findings of fact recorded by the Magistrate were erroneous and were not based on evidence and that the Magistrate had not properly appreci ated the evidence, but he could not himself take the job of re-appreciating the evidence and hold that prima facie case for summon ing the accused persons under sections 420, 465, 466, 468 and 471 IPC was made out. The proper course for him, after holding that the findings of fact recorded by the Magistrate were erroneous, was to remand the matter to the Magistrate with a direction to reassess the evidence, but the order that a case was made out to summon the accused persons under sections 420, 465, 466, 468 and 471 IPC was passed in excess of his jurisdiction. This was a jurisdictiona




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