The petitioner is before this Court calling in question

proceedings in C.C.No.1244/2019 pending on the file

JMFC-II, Shivamogga, registered for offence punishable

under Section 354-A of IPC.

Heard Sri Shivakumar N., learned counsel for

the petitioner and Smt. K.P.Yashodha, learned High Court

Government Pleader for respondent No.1.

3.

Brief facts that leads the petitioner to this Court

in the subject petition, as borne out from the pleadings are

as follows:

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The 2^nd respondent is the complainant. On an

incident that happens on 24.04.2014, a complaint comes

to be registered on 09.06.2015 after about 14 months of

the alleged incident. The incident narrated by the

complainant in the complaint is that, she knows the

petitioner for about four years and on 24.04.2014, the

petitioner had come to the house of the complainant to

enquire about ongoing dispute in the family and at that

point in time, takes the complainant to the backyard of her

house and hugs her and would express that he is in love

with her. The complainant further narrates that, based

upon this incident, again on 03.05.2014, the petitioner

comes to the house of the complainant and requests that

it was a mistake that he committed and nothing should be

kept in mind. Later, on 20.05.2014, the complainant

informs the petitioner that she has got a job and she

would like to join the same as her family member may

perform her marriage with somebody else and likewise,

communication is also made. She further narrates that

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on 18.06.2014, at about 3.30 a.m. in the night, three

people come into the house and take away her mobile and

again on 05.05.2015, three unknown persons come into

the house and took away the bag and mobile, that are not

the grievances of the complainant. The grievance is found

in the last paragraph of the complaint. The complainant

gets to know that on 08.06.2015, the petitioner has got

engaged to get married to another girl and then wakes up

and registers a complaint on 09.06.2015, on the next day

that the petitioner got engaged for getting married to

another girl.

4. The primary issue of the complainant is that, on

24.04.2014, the petitioner acted bad with the complainant

for having hugged her. The police after investigation file a

‘B’ report before the concerned Court. On filing of the ‘B’

report, the learned Magistrate issues a notice and the

complainant refuses to accept the notice. In view of the

refusal of the notice by the complainant, the learned

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Magistrate accepts the ‘B’ report and closes the case on

27.03.2017. On 05.05.2018, the second respondent files

an application seeking advancement of the case and the

matter to be taken up on board. On 09.05.2018, the

complainant also files a protest petition to the ‘B’ report.

Later, after the closure of the case, on 22.06.2019, the

Court issues process and takes cognizance of the offence

under Section 354A of the IPC. The learned Magistrate

taking cognizance of the offence and issuing process is

called in question by the petitioner in this subject petition.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that for

an act that has happened on 24.04.2014, the complaint is

filed on 09.06.2015, after about 14 months of the alleged

incident and the incident was only a hug of expression of

the love of the petitioner, beyond that nothing has

happened that could become an offence under Section

354A of the IPC. The learned Magistrate ones having

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closed the case after accepting the ‘B’ report, the order of

recalling and issuing process is without jurisdiction.

6. The second respondent is served and remains

unrepresented even in the proceedings before this Court.

7. Learned High Court Government Pleader would

however seek to refute the submissions of the learned

counsel for the petitioner contending that the petitioner

has to undergo trial and come out clean.

8. The afore-narrated facts are not in dispute. The

date of the alleged incident being 24.04.2014 is also no