The court emphasized the importance of preventing abuse of the legal process and securing the ends of justice.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Amit Kumar Singh, the learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Anant Pratap Singh, the learned AGA for the State and perused the records.

2. By means of the instant application filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the applicant has prayed to expunge the remarks/ observation made against him in paras 105 & 106 of the judgment and order dated 10.11.2021 passed by the learned Special Judge, M.P., M.L.A./ Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 19, Lucknow in Session Trial No. 460/2017 arising out of Case Crime No. 29/2017, under Sections 376D, 354A-1, 504, 506, 509 IPC & Section 5g/6 POCSO Act, Police Station Gautam Palli, District Lucknow, casting aspersions on the conduct of the applicant.

3. The aforesaid case alleged commission of offences by 7 accused persons, including a minister. It was alleged that the Minister and another accused person had administered some intoxicating substance to the informant and had raped her. They had prepared obscene photographs of the informant and by misusing those photos, all the accused persons repetitively raped the informant. However, when they tried to rape her 17 years old daughter, the informant resisted them and she filed the F.I.R.

4. A perusal of the judgment indicates that after completion of the prosecution evidence and recording of statements of the accused persons under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and also after recording of their statements under Section 313(5) Cr.P.C., the applicant had filed Crl. Misc. Writ Petition No. 21263 of 2020 for recording of his evidence and thereafter he was examined on 16.09.2021 as PW-17. He stated that in October, 2016, the informant, whom he referred to as her ‘Muh Boli Bahan’ had told her that she was being harassed by persons of the minister and soon she would call the applicant for her help. Thereafter the informant had called the applicant and he came to Lucknow and while the applicant was sitting in a car with the informant and the later was telling him about the offences committed against her, the applicant was attacked, but somehow he remained unhurt. The applicant further stated that for getting justice for the informant and her daughter, he had talked to an advocate of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and thereafter the advocate had filed a writ petition and the applicant was personally present in the Court at the time of hearing of the writ petition. The informant did not have money and, therefore, the applicant and some other persons had contributed money and had given the same to the informant. During that period, the informant came to know that the Investigating Officer wanted to record statement of the informant and she stated that she would give statement at New Delhi in presence of her advocate. Thereafter, statement of the informant’s daughter was recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. in Tees Hazari Court.

5. It is also mentioned in the trial court's judgment that the Investigating Officer had made repetitive phone calls to the advocate for recording statement of the informant under Section 164 Cr.P.C., whereupon the applicant and the informant came to Lucknow through a flight and got her statement recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. in the Court and thereafter they returned to Delhi through flight on the same day.

6. After recording of statement of the applicant as PW-17, the additional statement of the accused person were recorded wherein the accused Minister stated that the applicant had taken the informant under his influence and has given false evidence due to political animosity. Another accused person stated that the applicant is a criminal who had been externed from the district and he had levelled false allegations with the object of extracting money.

7. In paragraphs 105 and 106 of the judgment, the trial court has stated that the applicant and another person Ram Singh Rajpoot have acted as directors in the matter. After taking note of the facts stated in the preceding paragraphs of this order, the trial court noted that the applic