Nirmal Pal & Ors vs The State Of West Bengal & Anr
2023 Latest Caselaw 1447 Cal

                      IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

                      (Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction)

                              APPELLATE SIDE



Present:

The Hon'ble Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul)



                               CRR 141 of 2020

                              Nirmal Pal & Ors.

                                     Vs

                       The State of West Bengal & Anr.




For the Petitioners                 : Mr. Malay Bhattacharya,
                                      Ms. Sudipa Sengupta.




For the State                       : Mr. P. K. Dutta,
                                      Md. Kutubuddin.




For the Opposite Party No. 2        : Mr. Avinaba Patra,
                                      Mr. Partha Sarathi Das.




Heard on                            : 06.02.2023

Judgment on                         : 27.02.2023
                                    2


Shampa Dutt (Paul), J.:



       The present revision has been preferred praying for quashing of

the proceeding being Misc. Case No. 32 of 2019 in G.R. Case No. 150 of

2019 arising out of Nabadwip Police Station Case No. 277 of 2019 dated

05.07.2019

under Sections 323/506/120B/34 of the Indian Penal

Code, now pending before the Learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class,

Nabadwip, Nadia.

The petitioner's case is that the Opposite Party no. 2 had lodged

a written complaint under Section 156(3) before the Learned Judicial

Magistrate, 1st Class, Nabadwip, and pursuant to an order dated

12.06.2019 the said complaint was treated as First Information Report

and accordingly Nabadwip Police Station Case No. 277 of 2019 dated

05.07.2019 under Sections 323/307/504/506/120B of the Indian

Penal Code was started.

It has been alleged in the said written complaint that the

complainant is a widow and is residing with her daughter in the

property which she inherited from her father. The petitioners being the

accused persons are her neighbors and in order to grab her land

entered her house and used slang languages and when the complainant

opposed to such behavior, the accused persons beat her and upon

hearing the hue and cry, when the local people came to rescue her, the

accused persons fled away.

The petitioner's case is that the allegations against them is

totally false. That the story which has been made out by the

complainant in her written complaint is baseless and the same has

been initiated just to harass the petitioners and moreover the

allegations leveled against the petitioners is civil in nature and as a

result the Sections of Indian Penal Code does not apply herein. In the

instant case the investigating officer without considering the contention

of the petitioners as well as the statements recorded under Section 161

of the Cr.P.C., investigated the case in a stereotype manner and no

overt act has been mentioned in the Charge Sheet which has been filed

before the Learned Trial Court vide Charge Sheet No. 382/19 dated

29.09.2019 under Sections 323/506/120B/34 of the Indian Penal Code

and thus the order taking cognizance of the Charge Sheet and

subsequent proceeding is liable to be quashed and set aside.

The complainant herein again on false pretext lodged a

complaint against the petitioners on the self same grounds before the

Court of Learned S.D.E.M of Sadar, Krishnanagar, being NGR Case no.

2144 of 2019 under Section - 107/116(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure

vide Nabadwip Police Station NCR No. 515/2019 dated 19.09.2019.

Mr. Malay Bhattacharya, learned counsel for the petitioners

has submitted that the Judicial Magistrate has failed to apply his

judicial mind, while taking cognizance of the matter against the

petitioners.

The impugned proceeding is a glaring example of an abuse of the

process of law and if it is allowed to remain operative without quashing

or setting aside of all the orders as against the petitioner it will be

violative of the principles of natural justice.

Mr. Avinaba Patra, learned counsel for the opposite party

No. 2 has submitted that the case as made out in the written complaint

and the materials in the case diary clearly make out a prima facie case

against the accused persons and the investigating agency has rightly

submitted the Charge Sheet. Thus the revisional application is the liable

to be dismissed.

Mr. P. K. Dutta, learned counsel for the State has placed the

case diary.

On hearing the learned counsels for all the parties and materials

on record including the case diary, it appears that the dispute between

the parties allegedly relates to the land on which the complainant stays.

Though there is a petition with 250 signatories stating that the

petitioners are innocent and that the complainant is the person who is

wrong, this court cannot ignore the medical documents in the case

diary which prima facie makes out a case that the complainant

Kajal Pal was assaulted.

This thus appears to be a fit case to be sent for mediation.

Accordingly the matter is remitted to the Learned Magistrate with

the direction to refer the matter for mediation to the concerned

district legal services authority and make all endeavor to have the

matter settled preferably within a month at that level, as it is a

dispute between co villagers and the nature of dispute is such

where a mediation is the best answer.

CRR 141 of 2020 accordingly disposed of.

There will be no order as to costs.

All connected Application stand disposed of.

Interim order if any stands vacated.

Copy of this judgment be sent to the learned Trial Court

forthwith for necessary compliance.

Urgent certified website copy of this judgment, if applied for, be

supplied expeditiously after complying with all, necessary legal

formalities.

(Shampa Dutt (Paul), J.)