ORDER

This Criminal Miscellaneous Case is filed under Section

482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“the Code” for the sake of brevity).

2. Petitioner is one of the accused in C.C.No.234/2012 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Alathur. He, along with another accused, was charged for the offences punishable under Sections 27 (1)(e)(i), 27(1)(e)(iii) and 27(1)(e)(iv) of the Kerala Forest Act 1961. The petitioner was not able to appear before the lower court and his case was split up and refiled as C.C.No.208/2023. The case against the 1st accused continued and he was acquitted as per Annexure-A judgment.

3. Heard counsel for the petitioner and the Public Prosecutor.

4. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that in the light of Annexure-A judgment, the continuation of trial against the petitioner will be an abuse of process of court because the substratum of the prosecution case is shattered. The Public Prosecutor submitted that the petitioner has to face trial before the lower court and this court may not invoke the powers under Section 482 of the Code.

5. This Court inMoosa v. Sub Inspector of Police ( 2006 (1) KLT 552 ),Abbas T.K. v. State of Keral