IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Orders framing charges or refusing discharge are neither interlocutory nor final in nature and are not affected by bar of Section 397 (2) of Cr.P.C.
(2) High Court is imbued with inherent jurisdiction to prevent abuse of process or to secure ends of justice having regard to facts and circumstance of individual cases.
(3) Trial court while considering discharge application is not to act as a mere post office. Court has to sift through evidence in order to find out whether there are sufficient grounds to try suspect.

JUDGMENT :

Surya Kant, J:

Leave granted.

2. This appeal emanates from the judgment dated 28.11.2018 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad whereby a criminal revision against the order dated 13.03.2014 of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar refusing to discharge the appellant in N.C.R. No.120/2012 under Sections 504 and 506 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 [hereinafter referred to as “IPC”], has been turned down.

3. A brief reference to the facts may be necessary for disposal of the present appeal. A complaint was lodged with the jurisdictional police by Respondent No.2 (Kuldeep Mishra), who claimed to be a newspaper correspondent working for ‘The Pioneer’. It was alleged that he had conducted a journalistic investigation for malpractices against one gas agency, namely ‘Kalpana Indane Service’. He had also applied for certain information under the Right to Information Act 2005, so as to conduct investigation on alleged black marketing of gas cylinders by the aforesaid agency. The appellant herein is a partner in the aforesaid gas agency. As per the NCR report it is stated that the appellant, while he was responding to the calls made by Respondent No.2, started calling him names and threatened to kill Respondent No.2. It is alleged that the appellant had threatened Respondent No.2 to pump numerous bullets in his face so that he may not even be recognized.

4. On 08.05.2012 the complainant filed an application before the concerned Chief Judicial Magistrate (“CJM”) under Section 155 (2) Cr.P.C. for conducting investigation in the aforesaid allegations. The Court accordingly directed investigation and ordered the local police to submit the report.

5. It may be noted that during the course of investigation statement of complainant was recorded by the police which forms part of the case diary. The material allegations as stated in the aforesaid statement are as follows:

“………..The applicant had kept the speaker of his mobile on and from his mobile no. XXXX telephoned to Sanjay Rai’s mobile no.XXXX to enquire about the latest irregularities in the said gas agency. On mobile itself, Sanjay Rai started to give filthy abuses to the applicant and threatened to kill him. At the same he also told that your right to information and intellectual concerns shall be kept back in your hands. I will shot [sic.] such number of bullets that even your face could not be recognized. Mohd. Sahrif Kahn and Umesh Kumar Bhatt had also heard the threatening given by Sanjay Rai.”

It is apparent that there is material change in the statement of the respondent – complainant wherein he introduced Mohd. Sharif Khan and Umesh Kumar Bhatt as witnesses for the call made by the appellant herein.

6. In any case, on 21.07.2012 a charge sheet came to be filed against the appellant/accused under Sections 504 and 506 IPC based on the statement of complainant and the affidavits of two witnesses. It may not be out of context to mention here that the Investigating Officer did not deem it necessary to take the version of the appellant on record or consider his side of story also.

7. The CJM took cognizance of the matter on 08.11.2012. However, well before for framing of the charges the appellant sought his discharge under Section 239 Cr.P.C. contending that the complainant has falsely implicated him and the allegation of telephonic threats does not constitute an offence under Sections 504 and 506 of IPC. It was further averred that the investigation was not fair and was unilateral in its approach wherein the investigating officer had made no efforts to find out the truth and had instead relied on the statement of the complainant and other planted witnesses to fasten a case against the appellant. The learned CJM did not agree with the appellant’s plea and rejected his discharge application observing as under:

“xxx xxx xxx

From perusal of record it is obvious that no affidavit or any documentary evidence has been filed by the applicant/accused in support of his discharg