HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.7579 OF 2010 Dated : 07.10.2010 Between : G.Suryanarayana Reddy & others … Petitioners-accused a n d The State of A.P. & others … Respondents HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.7579 OF 2010 ORDER: This Criminal Petition under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short ‘Cr.P.C.’) is filed by the petitioners-A.1, A.5 to A.8, A.11 to A.13 & A.16 seeking to quash the order, dated 27.07.2010, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Anantapur, in Crl.M.P.No.134 of 2010 in Sessions Case No.178 of 2006. Heard Sri C.Padmanabha Reddy, learned Senior counsel for the petitioners, and Sri P.Keshav Rao, Special Standing Counsel for C.B.I. Petitioners filed the impugned petition under Sections 306, 307 and 308 Cr.P.C. requesting the Court to eschew the statement of A.9 recorded as evidence of P.W.1. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the learned Sessions Judge considered the following points require to be adjudicated: 1) Whether the acceptance of pardon should be necessarily expressed by the Court in writing or any other form, and 2) whether the prayer of the petitioners to eschew the evidence of A.9 recorded as P.W.1 is liable to be eschewed? After elaborately discussing the merits of the petition and also citing various principles laid down in various decisions, the learned Sessions Judge rejected the request of the petitioners by the impugned order. Challenging the same, the present Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners mainly contending that pre-requisite formalities were not followed by the learned Sessions Judge as the ‘tender of pardon’ was not accepted by A.9. The relevant contention of the Senior counsel raised in the Memorandum of Criminal Petition is hereby extracted for the purpose of better adjudication of the matter: “ The C.B.I. took a statement from A.9 in the prison and then filed a petition under Section 306 Cr.P.C. It may be pointed out that signature of A.9 was not obtained on the statement. On the petition filed by the CBI, advocate for A.9 endorsed on the Petition that he had no objection. The learned Sessions Judge tendered pardon, but A.9 did not accept the pardon which is prerequisite before examining A.9 as a witness. Nevertheless, the learned Sessions Judge examined A.9 as a witness on 25.06.2008. Thus, there was no compliance with the mandatory provisions of Sections 306, 307 and 308 Cr.P.C. The defence came to know of this illegality when it perused the docket order dated 11.02.2008 to 25.06.2008.” Thus, the petitioners challenge the examination of A.9 as P.W.1 by the trial Court treating him as an approver. Learned Public Prosecutor on behalf of the respondents replied that impliedly P.W.1 informed the Court that he accepted the ‘tender of pardon’ and the same was put to him at the time of his examination in the witness box. After elaborately arguing the matter, the learned Senior counsel informed this Court that the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge being interlocutory in nature and the main Sessions Case is coming up for arguments, the petitioners may be given liberty to approach the trial Court with the same prayer and hence, requested this Court to pass an order directing the trial Judge to consider the submissions made by the petitioners before this Court at the time of disposal of the Sessions Case. Learned Public Prosecutor vehemently opposed the submissions of the learned Senior counsel. After hearing the rival contentions, this Court is of the view that directions to eschew the evidence deposed by P.W.1 before the trial Court and to appreciate the witness in a particular manner cannot be given by this Court at this stage. The point raised by the learned Senior counsel that the evidence of P.W.1 not to be considered as evidence of approver can be raised before the trial Judge at the time of arguments and the learned Sessions Judge is also directed to consider the same not being influenced by the impugned order i.e. order dated 27.07.2010 passed in Crl.M.P.No.134 of 2010. With above observations, the Criminal Petition is disposed of. ________________________ JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO Dated : 07.10.2010 Note : Issue C.C. by tomorrow B/o. sur