The Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled that the primary consideration during the framing of charges is to ascertain the presence of a prima facie case and there is no requirement to delve into the probative value of the materials on record.
Brief Facts:
The present revision petition has been filed to set aside the discharge petition order. The case revolved around the allegations of procedural irregularity attributed to the Investigating Officer. It was alleged that the Investigating Officer in disregard of the directives of the Session Judge, arrested the Petitioners.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
It was argued that in the absence of a valid marriage, the proposed charges under Section 498A of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the D.P. Act lacked legal merit.
Observations of the Court:
It was ruled that the primary consideration during the framing of charges is to ascertain the presence of a prima facie case and there is no requirement to delve into the probative value of the materials on record.
It was observed from the facts of the case that the Family Court nullified the marriage between the 1st Petitioner and the 2nd Respondent.
The Bench noted that as per the facts of the matter, there was no suspicion against the Petitioners being guilty. Hence, no full-fledged criminal trial was required.
The decision of the Court:
Based on the aforementioned reasons, the revision petition was accordingly allowed and the Petitioner was ordered to be discharged from the criminal case
Case Title: M.sreenivasulu and Others v. The State Of Andhra Pradesh and Others
Case No.: Criminal Revision Case No. 165/2023
Coram: Hon’ble Justice T. Mallikarjuna Rao
Advocate for Petitioner: Adv. Challa Gunaranjan
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