Himachal Pradesh High Court
Of Sh. R.M. Upadhyaya vs Deepak on 11 May, 2022
Bench: Ajay Mohan Goel
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH AT SHIMLA
ON THE 11th DAY OF MAY, 2022
BEFORE
.
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAY MOHAN GOEL
CRIMINAL MISC. PETITION (MAIN) U/S 482 CRPC
No. 520 of 2019
Between:-
SANDEEP UPADHYAYA, SON
OF SH. R.M. UPADHYAYA,
RESIDENT OF PLOT NO. 3,
BLOCK NO. 16, HOUSING
BOARD COLONY, CHHOTA
SHIMLA.
...PETITIONER
(BY SHRI KUL BHUSHAN KHAJURIA,
ADVOCATE)
AND
1. MANOJ JOSHI, SON OF SH.
K.K. JOSHI, RESIDENT OF
HOUSE NO. 287/12, NAHAN,
DISTRICT SIRMOUR, H.P.
...RESPONDENT
2. SH. DEEPAK DHIMAN, EDITOR
(HIMACHAL), DAINIK
BHASKAR, HINDI DAILY, PLOT
NO. 11-12, SECTOR 25-D,
CHANDIGARH.
3. SH. R.K. GUPTA (FOR M/S D.B.
CORPORATION LTD.) PRINTER
& PUBLISHER, DAINIK
BHASKAR, HINDI DAILY,
OPPOSITE PWD GUEST
HOUSE, MALIKPUR, SIRHIND,
::: Downloaded on - 17/05/2022 20:04:45 :::CIS
2
DISTRICT FATEHGARH SAHIB,
PUNJAB-140406.
4. CITY REPORTER (NAME TO
.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE
EDITOR), DAINIK BHASKAR,
HINDI DAILY, NEAR MAJITHA
HOUSE, SHIMLA-2, H.P.
...PROFORMA RESPONDENTS
(SHRI BIMAL GUPTA, SENIOR ADVOCATE,
WITH M/S SATISH SHARMA & RAVI TANTA,
ADVOCATES FOR R-1.
SHRI M.A. KHAN, SENIOR ADVOCATE,
WITH MS. HEM KANTA KAUSHAL,
ADVOCATE, FOR R-2 & 3).
Whether approved for reporting? No.
__________________________________________________________
This petition coming on for hearing this day, the Court passed the
following:-
JUDGMENT
By way of this petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, the petitioner has prayed for quashing of proceedings
pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sirmaur at
Nahan in Complaint No. 4817/2018, titled as Manoj Joshi Vs. Deepak
Dhiman and others.
2. The complaint, referred to hereinabove, has been filed by
complainant- Shri Manoj Joshi under Sections 500, 501 and 120-B of the
Indian Penal Code. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that
the petitioner was not working for the newspaper concerned at the time
when the alleged news item was published. According to him, this stand of
the petitioner is good enough to allow the present petition filed under
Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing the
.
complaint, which so stand initiated against him. Learned counsel has also
argued that otherwise also, after the service of notice upon the petitioner,
the case has been listed before the learned Court below on more than 25
occasions, but no progress is being made for want of service of
respondent No. 4 therein, which is causing unnecessary harassment to
the petitioner and on this count also, the present petition deserves to be
allowed.
3. Mr. Bimal Gupta, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the
respondent/complainant -Manoj Joshi submits that the present petition is
completely mis-conceived, for the reason that the petitioner herein has
been rightly impleaded as an accused in the complaint and the allegations
which have been made by the complainant against the present petitioner
will be duly substantiated by him during the course of trial. He further
submitted that as far as the issue of service of respondent No. 4 is
concerned, the complainant has done all that was within his means to do
the needful, but as the particulars of the parties have not been disclosed
to the complainant by accused No. 2 and 3, it is for this reason that
service upon said respondent has not been effected till date.
4. On a query so put to learned counsel appearing for
respondents No. 2 and 3 by the Court, on instructions, learned Senior
Counsel appearing for the said respondents informed the Court that the
particulars of respondent No. 4 are as under:-
.
"Shri Ram Prashad, son of Shri Luiee Ram, resident
of Village Darkali, Rampur, Shimla, H.P."
5. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having
perused the petition as well as the documents appended therewith, this
Court is of the considered view that this is not a fit case wherein the Court
can exercise its inherent powers so vested in it under Section 482 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure and quash the proceedings initiated against
the present petitioner by respondent No. 1. However, this Court is not
giving any opinion with regard to the merit of the complaint which has
been filed by the complainant, but all that the Court is observing, is that
the complaint has to be adjudicated by the learned Trial Court on its own
merit and, but natural, petitioner herein is at liberty to take such defence,
as is available to him to prove his innocence before the learned Trial Court
and in case he is acquitted, then he can always have resort to such
remedies as are available in law, against the complainant.
6. As far as the issue of the matter being delayed before the
learned Trial Court on account of non-service of respondent No. 4 therein,
whose particulars were not disclosed in the Complaint before the learned
Court below is concerned, the undertaking given by learned Instructing
Counsel for the complainant is taken on record that now steps will be
taken for the service of said respondent before the learned Trial Court
within one week as from the date when the matter shall be first listed
.
hereinafter before the learned Trial Court, in terms of the identity of the
said party, so disclosed today by respondents No. 2 and 3. The petition,
therefore, is closed without adjudication on merit, but with the observation
that the learned Trial Court may make an endeavour to complete the trial
as expeditiously as possible, subject to necessary assistance being
rendered to it by the parties. The petitioner as well as respondents No. 1
to 3 herein through their learned counsel are directed to appear before the
learned Trial Court on 23rd May, 2022. On the said date, learned Trial
Court shall fix a date for the service of respondent No. 4 therein, on an
application which will be filed on the said date itself by the complainant
therein, mentioning therein the particulars of respondent No. 4 and also
incorporating the same in the main case. Miscellaneous applications, if
any, also stand disposed of.
(Ajay Mohan Goel)
Judge
May 11, 2022
(bhupender)
