Honnaiah T.H. v. State of Karnataka

1 Leave granted.

2 This appeal arises from a judgment dated 20 December 2021 of a Single Judge of the High Court of Karnataka by which the criminal revision filed by the appellant was dismissed on the ground of maintainability. The appellant, who is the original informant moved this Court.

3 It has been alleged that a dispute occurred on 25 December 2016 between the accused and villagers of Thoppanahalli village in Maddur, Karnataka on the allocation of water. The dispute is alleged to have led to a series of altercations and culminated in the murder of two persons and injuries to several others, including the appellant. A First Information Report[1] under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973[2] was registered on 26 December 2016 at PS Maddur, District Mandya, being Crime No. 0582 of 2016, for offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 504, 323, 302, 307, 114 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code.[3] According to the FIR, around 1830 hours on 25 December 2016, the accused came to the village of the appellant armed with knives and rods, and abused and assaulted some of the villagers. A few of the accused allegedly assaulted and stabbed the appellant, his elder brother, Mutthuraju, and another villager named Nandeesha with knives. The grievously injured persons were first taken to the Government Hospital at Maddur. The doctors at the hospital referred the injured to Mandya District Hospital from where they were further transferred to K R Hospital, Mysore. Both Nandeesha and Mutthuraju succumbed to the injuries.

4 The appellant claims that the FIR was registered on the information which was furnished by him, making him the informant. Upon investigation, a charge-sheet was submitted under Section 173 CrPC before the competent court and the case was committed for trial. 1 “FIR” 2 “CrPC” 3 “IPC”

5 During the course of the trial in SC No. 82 of 2017, the prosecution examined seven prosecution witnesses.[4] PW 2, Dr Chikkaboregowda stated that the appellant and another injured witness were brought by the police to Maddur Government Hospital at 1925 hours on 25 December 2016 and that he had referred both the patients to Mandya District Hospital for further treatment. PW 4, Dr Manjoj P working at K R Hospital, Mysore stated that the statement of the appellant was recorded in his presence by the PSI Maddur at 0115 hours on 26 December 2016.

6 The appellant was examined as PW 7. During the course of his examination-inchief, the Public Prosecutor wanted to mark the complaint together with the signature of the appellant as an exhibit. An objection was raised by the defense counsel on the ground that in view of the statement of PW 2, during the course of his examination, the statement of the appellant is referable to Section 161 of the CrPC and cannot be marked as an exhibit.

7 The trial court in its order dated 3 October 2019 refused to mark the complaint on the basis of the statement by PW 2, and on the ground that PW 7 did not depose in his evidence that he gave the complaint to the police. The trial court observed: “The witness has not deposed in his evidence that he has given complaint to the police. He has deposed that he has given statement while he was taking treatment in the hospital in presence of the Investigating Officer and 4 “PW” the Doctor. On the basis of the above evidence of P.W.2, the statement of this witness cannot be marked by treating the same as First Information Report. And, as requested by the learned Special Public Prosecutor, the statement of the witness and his signature cannot be marked as ‘exhibit’, since the witness has stated that he has given his statement.”

8 The State did not pursue its remedies against the order of the trial court. The appellant instituted a criminal revision under Sections 397(1) and 401 of the CrPC. The High Court by the impugned judgment dated 20 December 2021 upheld the order of the trial court, and dismissed the revision petition on the ground of maintainability. The High Court observed that the appellant as the defacto complainant had no locus standi to file the revision petition. The relevant observations of the High Court are extracted below:

9 The appellant moved this court, aggrieved by the order of the High Court dated 20 December 2021. Notice was issued on 11 March 2022, when the proceedings in SC No. 82 of 2017 pending before the trial court were stayed. By an order dated 11 April 2022, this Court modified its earlier order and stayed only the further recording of the evidence of PW 7 (the appellant) at the trial.

10 We have heard Mr Senthil Jagadeesan, counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, Mr Shubranshu Padhi, counsel for the State of Karnataka and Mr T.R.B. Sivakumar, counsel for the respondents-accused.

11 The case of the prosecution is that the injured persons, including the appellant, were shifted from the Government Hospital at Maddur to Mandya District Hospital to K R Hospital, Mysore on 26 December 2016. The appellant has not stated at any stage that he was brought by the police to any of the hospitals for treatment. On the basis of the deposition of PW 4, it prima facie appears that the statement of the appellant was recorded at 0115 hours on 26 December 2016 at K R Hospital, Mysore in the presence Dr Manoj P who was examined as PW 4. On the basis of the statement of PW[7], intimation about the offence was received at PS Maddur following which the FIR was registered as Crime No 0582 of 2016 at 0230 hours on 26 December 2016. Thus, the basis of the order of the trial court, which has been upheld by the High Court, namely, that the statement of the appellant is a statement under Section 161 CrPC is erroneous. The statement of the appellant, in fact, was the basis on which the FIR was registered. Hence, it was legitimately open to the prosecution to have the statement proved and marked as an exhibit during the course of the trial.

12 There would be a serious miscarriage of justice in the course of the criminal trial if the statement were not to be marked as an exhibit since that forms the basis of the registration of the FIR. The order of the trial judge cannot in these circumstances be treated as merely procedural or of an interlocutory in nature since it has the potential to affect the substantive course of the prosecution. The revisional jurisdiction under Section 397 CrPC can be exercised where the interest of public justice requires interference for correction of manifest illegality or the prevention of gross miscarriage of justice.[5] A court can exercise its revisional jurisdiction against a final order of acquittal or conviction, or an intermediate order not being interlocutory in nature. In the decision in Amar Nath v State of Haryana,[6] this Court explained the meaning of the term “interlocutory order” in Section 397(2) CrPC. This Court held that the expression “interlocutory order” denotes orders of a purely interim or temporary nature which do not decide or touch upon the important rights or liabilities of parties. Hence, any order which substantially affects the right of the parties cannot be said to be an “interlocutory order”. Speaking for a two-Judge Bench, Justice Murtaza Fazal Ali observed: