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2014 DIGILAW 845 (ALL)

PREMA v. STATE OF U. P.

2014-03-12

KARUNA NAND BAJPAYEE

body2014
JUDGMENT Hon’ble Karuna Nand Bajpayee, J.—This application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed seeking quashing of the charge-sheet dated 3.11.1997 in Case Crime No. 293 of 1997 under Sections 363 and 366 IPC, Police Station Hari Parwat, District Agra and the entire criminal proceedings arising out the same pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra as case No. 2115 of 2002. 2. Heard Sri Vijay Tripathi counsel for the applicant, Sri Manish Yadav learned counsel for the opposite Party No. 2 as well as learned AGA and perused the record. A supplementary-affidavit filed on behalf of Smt. Prema, the first informant, has also been taken on record. The submission is that after a proper trial, the co-accused of the same case, namely, Jagdish and Radha have already been acquitted. The judgment of acquittal has also been annexed alongwith the application as Annexure 4. This is a judgment passed by the Additional Sessions Judge/Fast Track-Ist, Agra dated 28.6.2004. 3. It has also been submitted that the incident took place on 5.7.1997 and the alleged kidnapped girl has ever since then lived alongwith her husband Shiva and out of the same wedlock two daughters were also born. It has also been submitted that in fact the aforesaid Shiva, who is said to have enticed away Hem Lata, has also died and is no more in this world, but, the girl Hem Lata is living alongwith her children in the house of Shiva still. It has also been submitted that as per the allegation of the FIR, applicant Prema is only alleged to have helped in the process of enticing away and is a lady living in the neighborhood unconnected with the family of accused or that of the victim. 3. Today when the matter was taken up the first informant Smt. Maheshwari Devi has also appeared in person before the Court. She has been identified by her counsel Sri Manish Yadav who has filed his power in the Court today. An affidavit has also been filed on her behalf and she has reiterated the averments made in her affidavit. Even on being questioned by the Court, she has expressed in unambiguous terms that she does not want the continuation of any further prosecution of the applicant for many reasons. 4. An affidavit has also been filed on her behalf and she has reiterated the averments made in her affidavit. Even on being questioned by the Court, she has expressed in unambiguous terms that she does not want the continuation of any further prosecution of the applicant for many reasons. 4. According to her statement given in the Court not only Shiva, alongwith whom her daughter Hem Lata had eloped, is no more in this world but more than 16 years have also passed by after the incident and her daughter is living alongwith her progeny, her own children, born out of the same alleged wedlock. In fact according to the averments made in her affidavit she has stated that her daughter had gone alongwith Shiva on her own volition and the applicant Smt. Prema had not played any role in the said abduction at all. 5. In the light of the submissions made at the bar, in the light of the statement given by the informant and the averments made in her affidavit and also in the light of the judgment of acquittal passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Agra with regard to the two co-accused of the same case, it is apparent on the basis of record that the star witness of the prosecution is not prepared to produce any evidence against the applicant and for all practical purposes the trial has lost all prospects of conviction against the applicant. The resolve of the first informant not to give evidence against the accused is unambiguous and apparent on the face of record. The findings recorded in the judgment of the acquittal with regard to co-accused also very strongly indicate in the same direction. Even otherwise after a gap of 16-17 years when the alleged husband, alongwith whom the girl Hem Lata had eloped, is also no more in this world and she is living alongwith her two children in house of her husband it looks very anomalous at this stage to allow the continuation of prosecution of the applicant who herself is a lady and had hardly anything to do either with the family of the victim or that of the accused Shiva. In the present case not only the process of the trial appears to have become a sheer abuse of the same but even the ends of justice shall stand defeated if this Court, despite the aforesaid facts having come to its notice, should allow this prosecution to go on. In the aforesaid circumstances of the case it seems to be a fit case to quash the impugned proceedings. Application allowed. The impugned charge-sheet and the proceedings arising out of the same which are pending in the lower Court with regard to the aforesaid case crime number are hereby quashed. This order may be certified to the lower Court.