The main legal point established in the judgment is the analysis of the legislative intent and implications of the provisions under Sections 500, 504, and 506 of the IPC, particularly focusing on the amendment made under Section 506 of the IPC by the U.P. State and its applicability in the State of Uttarakhand.

JUDGMENT :

When this C482 Application was initially argued, the co-ordinate Bench of this Court had formulated the following issues, on which the learned government advocate was called upon to answer, as to how the offence under Section 500, which happens to be in the shape of a private complaint, could at all be registered as a State case. The question, as formulated by the co-ordinate Bench of this Court on 10.05.2022, is extracted hereunder:-

“The Court wanted to know from the learned counsel for the State and learned counsel for the private respondent that, as to how, on an FIR, charge-sheet may be filed for the offence punishable under Section 500 IPC?”

2. There are various rival contentions, which have been raised by the learned counsel for the parties qua their respective cases, about the sustainability of the proceedings, as a State case. In case, had it been an isolated case for conducting trial for the offence under Section 500 of IPC, which as per the IPC, it's a non cognizable and bailable offence, which is triable by the Magistrate, and there cannot be any iota of doubt as such, that had it been a case exclusively under the domain of Section 500, it should have been registered as a complaint case only. But there would be an exception to the instant case owing to the FIR, which was got registered, being FIR No. 10 dated 5th January 2020, where the offences, which was complained of by the complainant was under Section 500, 504 and 506 of the IPC, which has to be compositively read with for the purposes of taking cognizance and for the conduct of trial too.

3. So far as the offence contained in the FIR under Section 504 of the IPC is concerned, under the IPC, it is too a non cognizable and bailable offence, which is triable by a Magistrate. But only owing to the fact that in the FIR, which was got registered on 05.01.2020, the offence under Section 506 was incorporated, which as per an unamended law applicable prior to the carving out of Uttarakhand State, the amendment made by the UP State by a Notification dated 31st July 1989, it too would have been both non cognizable, bailable and tribal by the Magistrate, but since the U.P. State had carried an amendment under Section 506 of IPC, so far its applicability in the State of U.P. is concerned and by virtue of a Notification No. 777/VIII 9-4(2)/87 dated 31st July 1989, as it was got published in the Official Gazette, the offence which was contained under Section 506 of the IPC, was made as cognizable and non-bailable offence. However, the sentence which was contemplated to be imposed therein, so far it relates to the State of UP as a consequence of 1989 amendment, it was seven years imprisonment and a fine and both.

4. At the time when the State of Uttarakhand was created i.e. on 9th November 2000, with the enforcement of the provisions of the U.P. Re-organization Act, the adoption of law was contemplated under Section 87 of the U.P. Reorganization Act, which is extracted hereunder:-

“87. Power to adapt laws.- For the purpose of facilitating the application in relation to the State of Uttar Pradesh or Uttaranchal of any law made before the appointed day, the appropriate Government may, before the expiration of two years from that day, by order, make such adaptations and modifications of the law, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient, and thereupon every such law shall have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications so made until altered, repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority.

Explanation.- In this section, the expression" appropriate Government" means as respects any law relating to a matter enumerated in the Union List, the Central Government, and as respects any other law in its application to a State, the State Government.

5. The provisions contained, under Section 87 of the U.P. Re-organisation Act, had provided, for an adoption of law, it provided, that all law in relation to the State of