JUDGMENT :

Ashish S. Chavan, J.

1. The Petitioners have invoked the inherent jurisdiction of this Court to quash and set aside the FIR No.79/2023 dated 14.11.2023 registered by Respondent No.1 against the Petitioners and the subsequent chargesheet arising therefrom bearing No.3/2024 filed before the Children’s Court at Panaji for offences punishable under Sections 323, 506 of IPC and Section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003 (the said Act) r/w Section 34 of IPC.

2. The Petitioners are arraigned in the aforesaid chargesheet as accused, whereas the Respondent No.3 is the father of the minor victim boy (victim) at whose instance the aforesaid proceedings are initiated.

3. The factual matrix germane to decide the issue arising before this Court is as under:

(i) That the victim filed the complaint dated 11.11.2023, received by the Police on 13.11.2023, making allegations against the Petitioners. In the said complaint, the minor victim boy alleges that he was earlier assaulted and attacked by the Silva brothers on 21.10.2023.

(ii) Narrating the incident of 11.11.2023, the victim alleges that he had gone to the beach to play football. When he came back to drink water, at that time, Helcino came towards him. He caught hold of his T-shirt and took his fist to the jaw of the victim and told him that he would break him like he broke his father Menino (Respondent No.3). Then Petitioner No.3 (Augustino) who was standing near Petitioner No.1 (Helcino) said that he would break the legs of the victim so that the victim would never play again. Petitioner No.2 said that he would suffocate the victim to death.

(iii) Apprehending violence at the hands of the Petitioners (assailants) and perceiving that there was a threat to his life and limb, the Complainant filed the aforesaid complaint.

(iv) Taking cognizance of the said complaint, the Respondent - Police Station filed FIR against Petitioner Nos.1 to 3. During the course of investigation, apart from recording statements and drawing of panchanamas, the Police obtained a Hurt certificate of the victim and recorded his statement under Section 164 of CrPC.

(v) The statement of the victim under Section 164 of CrPC sets out the details of the incident of assault. The statement reflects that on 11.11.2023 at around 01.00 p.m., when the victim had finished his game of football and was drinking water in the sports shed, he was approached by the Petitioner No.1, who caught hold of the collar of the T-shirt of the victim and punched him near the throat area below the chin. The victim states that he was hurt and there was some swelling near his neck. Petitioner No.1 then gave some papers pertaining to water sports and threatened the victim, saying that if he does not give these papers to his father, then Petitioner No.1 would assault the victim in the same way as he had assaulted his father. The statement further reveals that thereafter Petitioner No.3 threatened the victim by saying that he would break his legs when he goes to play football on the beach. Thereafter, the other Petitioners also threatened him. The victim, in his statement, further narrates that there is a rivalry between his father and the Silva brothers with respect to water sports activity and hence the Petitioners are not on good terms with the victim and his family. He also states that this is the second occasion on which the Petitioners have assaulted the victim. Due to their fear, the victim states that he is unable to even step out of his house.

(vi) The statement of one lady, who is a friend of the mother of the victim, forms part of the chargesheet. She states that on the day of the incident, she saw the victim playing football on the beach. While she was talking with someone else, she heard a commotion and saw some people surrounding the victim near the shack shed and one of the persons caught hold of the victim’s T-shirt collar and threatened that they would assault him. She further states that she, along with another lady, started walking