Withdrawal of prosecution impacts the continuance of charges against co-accused.

O R D E R

The petitioner herein is the 11^th accused in Crime No.410/2015 of Bekal Police Station, Kasaragod. The allegation against him is that he, along with the other accused arraigned as A1 to A10 and A12 to A15 and about 100 other unidentified persons, indulged in fighting in a public place at Mangad, at about 08:30 p.m, on 02.06.2015; and when the Police party intervened to disperse them, they attacked Police personnel and caused injuries to them.

2. The case against 13 accused, except the petitioner herein and the original 7^th accused, was committed by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Hosdurg, vide proceedings in C.P.No.11/2016. The aforesaid case was accordingly numbered as S.C.No.631/2016 by the Sessions Court, Kasaragod, and made over to the Additional Sessions Court-III, Kasaragod, for trial. In the meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor concerned filed an application under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 , seeking withdrawal of the prosecution. The aforesaid request of the prosecution was allowed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-III, Kasaragod, and a judgment was rendered in S.C.No.631/2016 on 15.02.2019, acquitting the above said 13 accused as against whom the case was committed. Now, in the present petition, the petitioner, who is the original 11^th accused in the final report, seeks to quash the further proceedings against him, which is now pending before the Additional Sessions Court-III, Kasaragod, as S.C.No.940/2022.

3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor representing the State of Kerala.

4. As already stated above, the proceedings against 13 accused, except the petitioner herein and the original 7^th accused in the final report, ended in acquittal pursuant to the withdrawal of the prosecution. Thus, there is absolutely no purpose that could be fulfilled by the continuation of the prosecution against the present petitioner, who is the original 11^th accused in the final report. The termination of the prosecution proceedings against the petitioner is thus highly necessary to prevent the abuse of process of Court.

In the result, the petition stands allowed. The proceedings against the petitioner (the original 11^th accused in the final report filed in Crime No.410/2015 of Bekal Police Station, Kasaragod) in S.C.No.940/2022 on the files of the Additional Sessions Court-III, Kasaragod, are hereby quashed.

(Sd/-)