Suresh s/o. Dadarao Kapse and others v. State of Maharashtra and another
1995-03-28
A.D.MANE
body1995
DigiLaw.ai
JUDGMENT - A.D. MANE, J. :----This is an application filed by the original accused for quashing not only the criminal proceedings but also order made by the learned Magistrate issuing process against them for offence punishable under section 494 read with section 109 of the Indian Penal Code. 2. Respondent No. 2 is the legally married wife of applicant No. 1. She filed her private complaint being Case No. 323 of 1993 in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Osmanabad, on July 14, 1993. In her complaint she has alleged that the applicant No. 1 performed second marriage illegally with applicant No. 2 with active assistance of the applicants Nos. 3, 4 and 5. It has further been alleged that the applicants Nos. 10, 17, 18, 20 and 21 who are inter se related between the applicants Nos. 2 and 10 actively participated in actual performance of the second marriage at village Pimpalgaon (Amba) Taluka and District Latur in Nilkantheswar Mandir on December 19, 1992, at about 11 a.m. In case of other applicants it has been merely stated that they were either present or associated with the actual ceremony performed for the second marriage of the applicants Nos. 1 and 2. 3. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, by his order dated July 21, 1993, issued the process against the applicant No. 1 under section 494 of the Indian Penal Code and against the applicants Nos. 2 to 21 under section 494 read with section 109 of the Indian Penal Code. 4. Mr. S.S. Choudhary, learned Counsel appearing for the applicants, in the first place, submitted that the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Osmanabad has no jurisdiction to entertain the complaint and take cognizance of the offences alleged. Secondly he has submitted that there is no sufficient ground which can be said to have been made out by the complainant to proceed with the case. Lastly it has also been submitted that on plain reading of the complaint it can be said that the ingredient of the alleged offence has not been made out against some of the accused persons. 5. To consider the question of jurisdiction it may be stated that the competency of a forum to take cognizance inquire into; and trial of an offence as defined in section 2 of the Code is determined by the place in which the offence may have been committed.
5. To consider the question of jurisdiction it may be stated that the competency of a forum to take cognizance inquire into; and trial of an offence as defined in section 2 of the Code is determined by the place in which the offence may have been committed. There cannot be any dual opinion that crimes in their nature are local and the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court is local. Section 177 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short, the Code), therefore, provides that every offence shall ordinarily be tried and inquired into by the Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed. Sub-section (2) of section 182 of the Code, is, however, an exception to the above rule which reads as under : "182. (1) ..... (2) Any offence punishable under section 494 or section 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) may be inquired into or tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction the offence was committed or the offender last resided with his or her spouse by the first marriage, (or the wife by the first marriage has taken up permanent residence after the commission of the offence." It is therefore clear from sub-section (2) of section 182 of the Code that in cases of bigamy the Magistrate would have jurisdiction to try and entertain complaints in three different situations; viz; 1) the Magistrate having jurisdiction (a) the place where the offence is committed; (b) the place where the offender last resided with him or his spouse and (c) the place where the wife by the first marriage has taken up permanent residence after commission of the offence. 6. In the present case the complainant has given her address of village Kolegaon in Taluka and District Osmanabad where admittedly her parents reside. In her complaint she has specifically stated that prior to the second marriage the applicant alongwith parents and uncles attempted to kill the complainant by fire for which they were prosecuted and the case is pending in appeal against their conviction. If this aspect is taken into account it cannot be doubted that the complainant has been residing at the place of her parents within the territorial jurisdiction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Osmanabad.
If this aspect is taken into account it cannot be doubted that the complainant has been residing at the place of her parents within the territorial jurisdiction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Osmanabad. In other words, from the aforesaid facts it can be said that the complainant must be deemed to have taken permanent residence at the place of her parents. Therefore, the Magistrate having jurisdiction over the place where the complainant has taken up permanent residence after the comission of the offence would have jurisdiction to entertain the complaint. This view finds support from various decisions, for instance, (Tekumalla Munuah v. Chittari Babunuri Ammanamma)1, 1991 Cri. L.J. 548 (A.P.), (Amrit Kaur v. Smt. Indrajit Kaur)2, 1991 Cri. L.J. 789 (Patna) and (Ningappa Shivappa Gowari and others v. Smt. Kalavath and anoher)3, 1986 Cri. L.J. 1719 (Karnt.). There is therefore no substance in the first contention of Shri Choudhary, the learned Counsel for the applicants. 7. Coming to the other two contentions of the learned Counsel for the applicants it may be stated that section 482 of the Code enables the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under the Code or to prevent abuse of process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. The inherent powers as much as controlled by the principles and precedents as are its express powers by the statute. If a matter is covered by an express letter of law the Court cannot give a go-bye to the statutory provisions and instead evolve a new provision in the garb of inherent jurisdiction (see A.I.R. 1990 S.C. 1655). In the present case it appears that the learned Magistrate appears to have mechanically issued the process without prima facie finding out the case against each of the accused persons. 7-A. With the assistance of the learned Counsel on both the sides I have gone through the complaint as well as the statement of the complainant on oath before the learned Magistrate. It is evident that the case prima facie can be said to have been made out for offence of bigamy or abatement thereof as against the accused Nos. 1 to 5, 10, 17, 18, 20 and 21.
It is evident that the case prima facie can be said to have been made out for offence of bigamy or abatement thereof as against the accused Nos. 1 to 5, 10, 17, 18, 20 and 21. In case of other accused there is no evidence worth the name to show that they were directly or indirectly involved in the commission of the alleged offence. Mere allegations of their presence were not enough. Nor is there any positive indication in the complaint that any of them contributed in any form in performance of the second marriage of the applicants No. 1 and 2. It seems to me that in the circumstances the criminal prosecution against them was a mere farce and the order issuing process against them requires to be quashed. 8. In the result, the application partly succeeds. The application of the applicants Nos. 1 to 5, 10, 14, 17, 18, 20 and 21 i.e. original accused Nos. 1 to 5, 10, 14, 17, 18, 20 and 21 is hereby rejected. The application of the applicants No. 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 to 13, 15, 16 and 19 is allowed. The criminal prosecution and the order issuing process against them are hereby quashed and set aside. Rule is accordingly made partly absolute. Application party allowed. *****