The Magistrate must properly apply legal principles when considering a police refer report and objections to ensure procedural correctness before taking cognizance of a case.

ORDER

Petition has been filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking to quash all criminal proceedings in pursuance of Annexures -IV, VIII and IX (S.T.No.352/2017 on the file of the Grama Nyayalaya, Parassala).

2. Petitioners are accused in S.T.No.352/2017 on the file of the Grama Nyayalaya, Parassala charged under Sections 447, 427 294(b) r/w. S.34 IPC . The origin of the case relates to registration of crime No.1050/2016 of Poovar police station against the petitioners/accused on the basis of an information furnished by the second respondent/defacto complainant. According to the 2nd respondent/defacto complainant petitioners who are the members of political party to which the President of Grama Panchayath, Poovar belong, got perturbed on making a complaint against the President of Panchayath before Vigilance by the defacto complainant. So with a common intention to commit waste in the property of defacto complainant they criminally trespassed into the house of the defacto complainant in the early morning on 26.09.2016 at 1 a.m and hurled stones at the house of the defacto complainant causing breaking of, window glass of bedroom of defacto complainant, the light fitted on the sit-out and indicator of the motorbike. The copy of the FIR is produced as Annexure-I. After investigation, the case was referred as false out of some political vengeance. According to the petitioners, the wife of the defacto complainant was denied the seat by LDF in the election to local bodies in the year 2010. That led to the animosity between the defacto complainant and LDF workers. The LDF candidate of Kanchampazhanji Ward won the election in the year 2015 and became the President of the Panchayath. Being annoyed by that the defacto complainant and his wife and son went to the house of the second petitioner and abused him using filthy language and the matter was reported to the police and crime No.1039/2016 was registered against them on 25.09.2016. Thereafter, this false complaint was filed after the defacto complainant and wife themselves breaking the window glass of bedroom, CFL light of the sit-out and indicator of motorbike during the night of 26.09.2016. A copy of the Refer Report is produced and marked as Annexure -II.

3. The court below issued notice on the refer report to the defacto complainant/second respondent and copy of the same is produced as Annexure-III. Thereafter, second respondent filed protest complaint and copy of which is produced as Annexure-IV. Thereafter, the court below examined the defacto complainant and two witnesses and took cognizance of the offence and issued process to the petitioners. A copy of the statements of the defacto complainant and witnesses were produced as Annexure-V to VII respectively. Annexure-VIII and IX are the copies of the summons issued to the petitioners 1 & 2. The wife of the defacto complainant filed a complaint before the Human Rights Commission against the petitioners and the petition was closed after conducting an enquiry through Dy.S.P., Narcotic Cell and a Refer Report was filed in that case and a copy of the same is produced and marked as Annexure-X.

4. According to the petitioners the learned Magistrate ought to have accepted the Refer Report and dropped the proceedings. So the criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioners in pursuance of Annexures IV, VIII and IX are abuse of process of court and hence the case.

5. Notice was issued to the respondents. First respondent appeared through learned Public Prosecutor. Though notice was served upon the second respondent, there is no appearance on behalf of him.

6. Heard the learned counsel for the