The petitioner herein is the original 20th accused in C.C. No. 148/2005 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvalla. Offences involved in the crime are under sections 143, 147, 148, 452, 427 and 501(ii) IPC r/w section 149 IPC.
2. The accused nos. 1 to 19 and 22 faced trial before the learned Magistrate in C.C. No. 148/2005 and obtained a judgment of acquittal under section 248(1) Cr.P.C. On 31.08.2010, when all the material witnesses turned hostile to the prosecution, in view of an amicable settlement made by the parties out of court. The case against others, including the petitioner, was split up and re-filed as C.C. No. 643/2010. The petitioner now seeks orders quashing the prosecution against him on the ground that continuance of Crl.M.C. No. 7295/2014 -2-
prosecution will not serve any purpose.
3. Annexure C judgment in C.C. No.148/2005 shows that the prosecution examined three witnesses in the said case and marked Exts.P1 and P2 during trial, but none of the witnesses supported the prosecution. Even the first informant turned hostile and disowned his case in the First information Statement. In such a circumstance, the learned Assistant Prosecutor gave up the remaining witnesses and the learned Magistrate closed the evidence.
4. I find that the very substratum of the prosecution case stands lost. The prosecution cannot, in any manner, improve the case, and the witnesses also cannot, in any manner, help the prosecution, if the case against the others goes to trial. Practically, continuance of the prosecution against others will be sheer waste of time. I am well satisfied that the witnesses turned hostile at the initial stage, in view of a settlement made by the parties out of Court.
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In the result, the petition is allowed. Prosecution against the petitioner herein, as one of the accused in C.C. No.643/2010 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvalla, will stand quashed under section 482 Cr.P.C. Accordingly, he will stand released from prosecution, and the bail bond, if any, executed by him will stand discharged.
Sd/- P.UBAID, JUDGE jjj