IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Criminal Misc. Application(C482) No. 91 of 2003 Narayan Singh S/o Shri Laxman Singh Bisht R/o Tildhukari, Police Station Pithoragarh District, Pithoragarh. ……..…Petitioner Versus 1. State of Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand 2. Chief Judicial Magistrate, Pithoragarh ....……Respondents Smt. Pushpa Joshi, Advocate, present for the petitioner. Shri M.A. Khan, Brief Holder, present for the State. Hon’ble Prafulla C. Pant, J. By means of this petition moved under section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short Cr.P.C.), the petitioner has sought quashing of the proceedings of criminal complaint case no. 709 of 2002 State vs. Narayan Singh & another, relating to offences punishable under section 306, 217, 218, 120B I.P.C., pending in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Pithoragarh. 2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused affidavit and counter affidavit. 3. Brief facts of the case are that a report dated 06.01.1993, was submitted by Village Pradhan Dewani Ram (copy Annexure-1) of Village Sorlakeh to the Naib Tehsildar, Pithoragarh, that a dead body is hanging near Chuna Bhatti, Tok. On this, Revenue Police went to the spot prepared inquest report. The dead body was sent for post-mortem examination. Dr. P.C. Pandey conducted post-mortem examination on the very day i.e. on 06.01.1993, and it was recorded by the medical officer in the autopsy report (copy Annexure-3) that the deceased had died due to asphyxia as a result of hanging. It appears that thereafter first information report was registered almost after one year on the suspicion that the deceased might have been murdered as his legs were touching the ground. After investigation, the Investigating officer submitted find report with the finding that the deceased has died of hanging and had committed suicide. It appears thereafter the matter was sent for further reinvestigation / further investigation to CBCID, on which after further investigation a charge sheet in respect of offences punishable under section 306, 217, 218, 120B I.P.C, was filed before the Magistrate in which petitioner and Diwani Ram are summoned as accused. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that from the statement of the witnesses under section 161 of Cr.P.C., (even if, the same are taken to be true) the ingredients of none of the offences alleged in the charge sheet are made out. The statements recorded by the Investigating Officer annexed as Annexure-6 to the petition were read out before me. There is nothing which attracts the alleged offences against the petitioner or co-accused Diwani Ram. Rather, it has come on the record that the deceased was drug addict who used to take ‘charas’ and he was suffering from tuberculosis, and he committed suicide. 5. After going through the entire statements of the witnesses recorded under section 161 of Cr.P.C., and other papers on record, this Court finds absolutely nothing on the record on the basis of which it can be said that the accused has abetted crime or that they have concealed the evidence or that they have conspired to commit any of the alleged offences. 6. Having considered submissions of learned counsel for the parties and after going through the papers on record, this Court is of the view that it is abuse of process of law to make the petitioner and co-accused Dewani Ram, to face the trial in respect of offences alleged against him, without there being any evidence at all against them. Diwani Ram is Village Pradhan who reported dead body is hanging. And petitioner Narayan Singh said to be contractor with whom the deceased used to work as labour. 7. Therefore, the petition under section 482 of Cr.P.C., is allowed. The impugned charge sheet and the proceedings of the criminal case no. 709 of 2002, State vs. Narayan Singh & another, relating to offences punishable under section 306, 217, 218, 120B I.P.C., pending in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Pithoragarh, are hereby quashed. Dt. 07.06.2010 Parul (Prafulla C.Pant,J)