Allahabad High Court
Rekha Paliwal And Another vs State Of U.P. And Another on 19 July, 2023
Bench: Samit Gopal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:143635
Court No. - 69
Case :- CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 5473 of 2021
Appellant :- Rekha Paliwal And Another
Respondent :- State of U.P. and Another
Counsel for Appellant :- Mahendra Singh
Counsel for Respondent :- G.A.
Hon'ble Samit Gopal,J.
1. List revised. No one appears on behalf of the appellants to press this appeal.
2. Sri Bade Lal Bind, learned counsel for the State is present.
3. The Court proceeds to decide the matter with the assistance of learned counsel for the State.
4. The present appeal has been filed by the appellants Rekha Paliwal and Vishal Verma @ Laddu with the prayer to allow the present appeal and set aside the impugned summoning order dated 17.09.2021 in Complaint Case No. 748 of 2020 (Maya Devi Vs. Rekha Paliwal and another) for offence under Section 506 IPC and 3(1)(RS) of SC/ST (PA) Act, P.S. Bharthana, District Etawah, pending in the ourt of Special Judge, SC/ST (PA) Act/Court No.2, Etawah.
5. A co-ordinate Bench of this Court passed an order on 30.09.2022 in the matter. The same is extracted hereinbelow:-
"Heard learned counsel for the appellants and learned AGA for the State.
By means of the present criminal appeal under Section 14A-1, the appellants are assailing the legality and validity of the summoning order dated 17.09.2021 whereby Special Judge SC/ST (PA) Act, Court No.2, Etawah while entertaining the complaint case no. 748 of 2020, has summoned the appellants to face the prosecution under Section 506 IPC and 3(1) (RS) of SC/ST (PA) Act, P.S.- Bharthana, District- Etawah, pending in the Court of Special Judge, SC/ST (PA) Act, Court No.2, Etawah.
Learned counsel for the appellants submits that as per the provision of judgment of this Court in the case of Soni Devi Vs. State of U.P. in Application U/S 482 No.12864 of 2021 whereby, it is urged that only the FIR to be lodged for the offences related with SC/ST Act, and so of complaint case is bad in the eye of law.
Per contra, learned A.G.A. has cited yet another judgment of Naresh Kumar Valmiki Vs. State of U.P. and ors. in Application U/S 482 No.14443 of 2022 whereby the co-ordinate Bench of this Court has taken another view which touches the core issue of the present controversy.
Matter has been referred to larger Bench for consideration of the issue.
Let notice under Section 15A(3)(5) of SC/ST Act be issued to opposite party no. 2 through Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned.
Connect the present case with Application U/S 482 No.14443 of 2022 titled as Naresh Kumar Valmiki Vs. State of U.P. and Ors., and the fate and future of the case shall be co-extensive of the decision of the aforesaid legal issue.
Till further orders, effect and operation of order dated 17.09.2021 passed by Special Judge SC/ST (PA) Act, Court No.2, Etawah shall remain stayed and the fate and future of this appeal shall be dependent upon the ultimate result of the larger bench on the issue of maintainability of complaint case attracting provisions of SC/ST Act."
5. Perusal of the records show that the ground as taken is that the order summoning the appellants dated 17.09.20221 passed by the trial court is bad in the eyes of law inasmuch as an application dated 08.09.2020 filed under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. by the opposite party no.2 was directed to be treated as a complaint on which the statements of the complainant was recorded under Section 200 Cr.P.C. and of his witnesses under Section 202 Cr.P.C. after which the appellants were summoned to face trial.
6. The challenge is that in view of the judgment of a co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Soni Devi Vs. State of U.P. : 2022 (5) ADJ 64 an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. for offences under the SC/ST Act cannot be directed to be treated as a complaint and as such the order summoning is bad in the eyes of law.
6. Learned counsel for the State has also been heard.
7. The judgment of Soni Devi (supra) has been held to be not correct in the judgment passed by a Division Bench of this Court in the case of Naresh Kumar Valmiki Vs. State of U.P. and others : Application U/S 482 No. 14443 of 2022, decided on 17.10.2022 and it has been held that an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. can be directed to be treated as a complaint.
8. In view of the same the said ground does not exist. Wth regards to the summoning order dated 17.09.2021 this Court has perused the same. The Court finds that the same has been passed after considering all the aspect of the matter. There is no illegality or irregularity in the same, the appeal stands dismissed.
9. Office to communicate this order to the concerned trial court within one week.
Order Date :- 19.7.2023
M. ARIF
(Samit Gopal, J.)
