Punjab-Haryana High Court
Sukhwinder Singh And Anr vs State Of Punjab And Anr on 14 November, 2023
Neutral Citation No:=2023:PHHC:143964
2023:PHHC:143964
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
120 CRM-M-45336-2023
Date of Decision : November 14, 2023
SUKHWINDER SINGH AND ANR -Petitioners
V/S
STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR -Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KULDEEP TIWARI
Present: Mr. Shoryaveer Vashist, Advocate
for the petitioners.
Mr. Karunesh Kaushal, A.A.G, Punjab.
***
KULDEEP TIWARI, J. (ORAL)
1. Through the instant petition, as instituted under Section 482
of the Cr.P.C., the petitioners yearn for quashing of the orders dated
12.04.2023 (Annexure P-4) and 05.07.2023 (Annexure P-5), as passed
respectively by the learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Balachaur and by
the learned Sessions Judge, S.B.S. Nagar.
2. At the very outset, the learned counsel for the petitioner
submits that the learned Magistrate concerned, through an order made on
12.04.2023 (Annexure P-4), after recalling her earlier order dated
31.03.2023, whereby, the complaint bearing CIS No.COMI/53/2016 was
ordered to be dismissed in default for want of prosecution, allowed
restoration of the complaint (supra) to its original number. However, once
the complaint (supra) was dismissed for non-prosecution, the learned
Magistrate concerned became functus officio and had no authority to
recall her earlier order. To fortify his above made submission, he has
1 of 3
Neutral Citation No:=2023:PHHC:143964
CRM-M-45336-2023 2 2023:PHHC:143964
placed reliance upon a judgment rendered by this Court in case titled
"Krishan Lal V/s Sangeeta Aggarwal", Crl. Misc. No.M-79076 of 2006,
Decided on: 06.05.2009, wherein, it has been held that the Code of
Criminal Procedure does not endow any statutory authority in the learned
Magistrate concerned to review/recall her own order, except if it suffers
from any clerical or arithmetical error. To further strengthen his above
made submission, he has also placed reliance upon a judgment rendered
by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in "Major General A.S. Gauraya V/s S.N.
Thakur", Criminal Appeal No.184 of 1979, Decided on : 25.04.1986.
3. With the able assistance of the learned counsel for the
petitioner, I have made a thorough survey of the orders (supra), as
impugned before this Court.
4. It is indisputable that a Magistrate does not have any able
statutory authority or jurisdiction to recall his/her own order, therefore,
the impugned order (Annexure P-4), as passed by the learned Magistrate
concerned, is per se illegal. However, the learned revisional court
concerned took cognizance of this fact and drew the order dated
05.07.2023 (Annexure P-5), thereby declaring the order (Annexure P-4) to
be non est. Moreover, through order (Annexure P-5), the learned
revisional Court concerned, after summoning the relevant record from the
court of learned Magistrate concerned and finding the order dated
31.03.2023, whereby, the complaint (supra) was ordered to be dismissed
in default for want of prosecution, to be replete with manifest error of law,
observed that once the charges had been framed, there was no statutory
jurisdiction vested in the learned Magistrate concerned to dismiss the
2 of 3
Neutral Citation No:=2023:PHHC:143964
CRM-M-45336-2023 3 2023:PHHC:143964
complaint (supra) merely for non-prosecution, especially when it was a
warrant case. Consequently, with the above observations, the learned
revisional Court concerned, rectified the error committed by the learned
Magistrate concerned and also set aside the order dated 31.03.2023,
whereby, complaint (supra) was dismissed for non-prosecution.
5. As a consequence of hereinabove discussed material, this
Court does not find any apparent error or perversity in the order dated
05.07.2023 (Annexure P-5), as passed by the learned revisional Court
concerned. Therefore, the instant petition is dismissed being devoid of
merits and the impugned order (Annexure P-5) is affirmed and
maintained.
(KULDEEP TIWARI)
November 14, 2023 JUDGE
devinder
Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes/No
Whether Reportable : Yes/No
Neutral Citation No:=2023:PHHC:143964
3 of 3
