Permissibility of two trials for the same offence and the requirement for both trials to be conducted by the same court separately.

GURPAL SINGH AHLUWALIA, J.

1. This application under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. has been filed against the order dated 8-4-2011 passed by J.M.EC. Mungawali, Distt. Ashoknagar in complaint case No. 197/2011 by which the Magistrate has taken cognizance of offence under Sections 302, 324 of I.P.C. against the applicants. The necessary facts for the disposal of the present application in short are that the Kotwar gave an information to the police that the dead body of a child namely Aliya is lying in front of her house. On this information, the police started investigation. The dead body was sent for postmortem. The statements of the witnesses were recorded. The statement of the respondent was also recorded. This is not out of place to mention here that the respondent is the wife of one Mister Khan who is facing trial on the allegation of killing his own daughter Ms. Aliya Khan. It was stated by the respondent in her case diary statement that a land dispute is going on between her husband Mister Khan and Rahees Khan and therefore, the revenue authorities had come for demarcation of land. Her husband and brother-in-law had gone to the fields. At about 1:30 P.M., they came back.

2. Her husband was very annoyed. He said that since, Rahees has got the land demarcated, therefore, now he will get him implicated in a false case of murder. Therefore, he picked up an axe and moved towards his daughter. When the respondent objected to it, her husband caused injury to her by a knife and thereafter he caused injury to his daughter deceased Aliya. The police after completing investigation, filed charge sheet against Mister Khan and Pappu Khan and they are facing trial.

3. Thereafter, the respondent filed a criminal complaint against the applicants on the allegations, that they had caused murder of Ms. Aliya. The Trial Magistrate by order dated 8-4-2011 took cognizance of the offence against the applicants under Sections 302, 324 of I.P.C.

4. Challenging the order passed by the Magistrate, it is submitted by the Counsel for the applicants that for the murder of girl Aliya, Mister Khan and Pappu Khan are already facing trial. The evidence of the respondent has been recorded in the Trial and She has stated that in fact the applicants have committed murder of Ms. Aliya. Therefore, under this circumstance, the only option available was to file an application under Section 319 of Cr.P.C. for impleading the applicants as an additional accused persons and separate complaint was not maintainable. To buttress his contentions, the Counsel for the applicant has relied upon a judgment passed by the Supreme Court in the case of Jile Singh v. State of UP. and another reported in (2012) 3 SCC 383.

5. Per Contra, it is submitted by the Counsel for the respondent, that the police had not conducted the free and fair investigation and at the instance of the applicants, had falsely implicated the father and uncle of the deceased Aliya. Two Trials for the same offence against two different persons are permissible and the only rider is that both the Trials should be conducted by one Court and should be decided by two different judgments so as to avoid contradictory judgments. To buttress his contentions, the Counsel for the respondent has relied upon the judgments passed in the case of Harjinder Singh v. State of Punjab reported in (1985)1 SCC 422, Pal v. State of U.P. Reported in (2010) 3 SCC (Cri) 1228.

6. The moot question for determination is that whether two different Trials in respect of same offence" where the accused persons are not common, can go on or whether the only option available to the complainant is to file an application under Section 319 of Cr.P.C. The question involved is no longer res-integra. The Supreme Court in the case of Pal (Supra) has held as under:

28. Although it will appear from the above that under Section 210 CrPC, the Magistrate may try the two cases arising out of a police, report and a private complaint together, the same, in our view