Prayagraj, March 21: The Allahabad High Court has held that the veracity of the allegations cannot be determined at the stage of summoning the accused.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh passed this order while dismissing the 482 CrPC application filed by Pankaj Tyagi of Meerut against the summons order of the magistrate.
The court said that it is the job of the trial court to appreciate the evidence. The High Court cannot at this stage assume the jurisdiction of the trial court on an application made under section 482 Cr.
According to the case, the victim filed an application under Section 156(3) CrPC in September 2014 before the Judicial Magistrate-III, Meerut. The application had alleged that on August 27, 2014, when she was sleeping in her room, the accused entered her room and broke down on her and forcibly tried to rape her.
It was further alleged that on the screaming of the victim, her mother woke up and caught the accused. However, he escaped by using force and abusing and beating his mother. He ran away and threatened that if the victim did not have sex, he would attack her with acid.
The application was accepted by the Judicial Magistrate-III, Meerut and the SHO concerned was directed to investigate the matter by registering an FIR. Pursuant to the order of the magistrate, an FIR was registered under sections 354, 376, 511, 504, 506, 323, 452 of the IPC.
The Investigating Officer submitted the chargesheet against the petitioner (applicant). On which the CJM Meerut took cognizance and summoned the accused petitioner. This summoned order was challenged in the High Court by applying under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure.
The High Court, keeping in view the judgments given by the Supreme Court in this regard, observed that the power to set aside the summons order should be exercised sparingly and with caution as exceptions.
The Court observed that while investigating the FIR, the Court cannot initiate any inquiry as to the credibility or genuineness of the allegations made in the FIR/complaint.
The court said that the present case does not fall in the category of rarest of rare cases to be quashed.
The Court said, “Appreciation of evidence is an act of the trial court and this Court cannot assume such jurisdiction in exercise of power under section 482 CrPC and do not quash the procedure of trial provided under law”.
It has been decided by the Supreme Court that the power under Section 482 CrPC should not be exercised in a regular manner at the pre-trial stage, but should be used sparingly.
The Court further observed that taking cognizance of an offense is an area which exclusively falls within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate and at this stage; the Magistrate need not go into the merits of the case. The court insisted, โThe genuineness or veracity of the allegations cannot be determined even at the stage of summoning the accused.โ The court insisted that a prima facie cognizable offense was made out against the applicant. In view of this the existing application is dismissed.
