IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 18TH DAY OF JULY, 2019 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JOHN MICHAEL CUNHA CRIMINAL PETITION No.8480 OF 2015 BETWEEN:
1. Sri Pudiyatanda Subhas @ Somaiah S/o late Joyappa Aged about 51 years Galibeedu-Village Village Panchayatha President Galibeedu Post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu District-571 251.
2. Sri Pudiya Thanda Suresh S/o Late Puvaiah Aged about 31 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Kodagu District-571 251.
3. Sri Pudiya Thanda Ramappa S/o Late Kalaiah Aged about 69 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
4. Sri Pudiya Thanda Nanjappa S/o Late Subaiah Aged about 46 years Muttlu, Village Sooralabi Post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
5. Sri Udiyanda Thimmaiah S/o Late Machaiah Aged about 61 years Muttlu, Village Sooralabi Post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
6. Sri Kakera Palangappa S/o Muthananna @ Muttappa Age about 41 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
7. Sri Monnanda Shesappa @ Shivappa S/o Kuttappa Aged about 41 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
8. Sri Pudiya Thanda Karyappa S/o. Veerappa Aged 63 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
9. Sri Udiyanda Manu S/o. Late Karyappa Aged 25 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Dist Kodagu-571 251.
10. Sri Karera Charmanna S/o. Late Kuttappa Aged about 56 years Kaloor Village Kallor Post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist-571 237.
11. Smt. Ponnachettira Bhojamma @ Bojakki W/o. Tummanna Aged about 36 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Kodagu Dist-571 251.
12. Smt. Ponnachettira Sarasu W/o. Nanjappa Aged about 41 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist-571 251.
13. Smt. Pudiya Thanda Chondamma W/o. Somaiah Age about 56 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist 571 251.
14. Smt. Pudiya Thanda Dharmavathi W/o. Somaiah Aged about 56 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist 571 251.
15. Smt. Pudiya thana Gangamma D/o. Puvaiah Aged about 17 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
16. Sri. Bottolanda Nanda Karyapa S/o. Kuttappa Aged about 31 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi Post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist-571 251.
17. Sri Palyenanda Thimmaiah S/o. Annaiah Aged about 59 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist.571 251.
18. Sri Pudiya Thanda Ravi S/o. Late Changappa Aged about 51 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
19. Sri Pudiya Thanda Nanjappa S/o Late. Subhaiah Aged about 46 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
20. Sri Pudiaya Thanda Nanjappa Late. Subhaiah Aged about 46 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
21. Sri Paleyanda Nanjappa S/o Appaiah Aged about 41 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi Post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
22. Sri. Udiyanda Devaiah S/o. Late Changappa Aged about 69 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
23. Sri Chillajammanda Yogamaiah S/o. Late Nanamaiah Aged about 51 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
24. Sri Chilljammanda Harish S/o Subhamaiah Aged about 29 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
25. Sri Naliyamanda Dharmaiah S/o. Medamaiah Aged about 31 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
26. Sri Bottolanda Subbaiah S/o Pannappa Aged about 46 years Muttlu Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
27. Sri. Paleyanda Thimmaiah S/o. Annaiah Aged about 59 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist. 571 251.
28. Sri. Paleyada Ganesh S/o. Puvaiah Aged about 41 years Hamiyala Village Sorralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist.571 251.
29. Sri Kochera Kammani S/o. Puvaia Aged about 56 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist-571 251.
30. Sri Kochera Nanda S/o. Punachha Aged about 26 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist.571 251.
31. Sri Kochera Appachu S/o. Shivaiah Aged about 56 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist.571251.
32. Sri Cholachanda Subhas S/o. Somaiah Aged about 36 years Hamiyala village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist.-571 251.
33. Sri Monnanda Pattu S/o. Somaiah Aged about 46 years Hamiyala Village Sooralabi post Madikeri Taluk Kodagu Dist.571 251.
34. Sri Muddananda Madhu S/o. Late Palangappa Aged about 30 years Surlabhi Village Surlabhi post Kodagu District-571 251. …Petitioners (By Sri V. Srinivas, Adv.) AND:
Sri U.M. Muddaiah S/o Medappa Aged about 68 years R/at No.1264, 8th Main 13th Cross, 2nd Phase Girinagar Bangalore-560 085. …Respondent (By Ms. Sanjeevini V.H. for Sri G. Jairaj, Adv.) This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. praying to quash the order dated 20.06.2015 in C.C.No.15337/2015 passed by the 24th ACMM, Bangalore and consequently quash all further proceedings in C.C.No.15337/2015 on the file of 24th ACMM, Bangalore.
This Criminal Petition coming on for Admission, this day, the Court made the following:
ORDER Heard learned counsel for petitioners and learned counsel for respondent.
2. Perused the records.
3. Petitioners are aggrieved by the issuance of summons in C.C. No.15337/2015 by the XXIV ACMM, Bengaluru, for the alleged offence punishable under section 500 of IPC.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners, at the outset, submitted that the petitioners are sought to be prosecuted without there being any material to show their complicity in the alleged offence. The averments made in the complaint even, if accepted on the face value, do not show that the petitioners have any made scurrilous imputations against complainant attracting the ingredients of Section 499 of IPC. No averment is made in the complaint that the photographs appeared in Vijayavani and Shakthi, Kannada daily news papers, were published by the petitioners or that the petitioners were in anyway instrumental in causing the said publication. In the absence of any such averment, the learned Magistrate has committed a serious error in taking cognizance of the alleged offence against the petitioners, and thus seek to dismiss the complaint.
5. Learned counsel for the respondent argued in support of the impugned summons contending that there are clear averments in the complaint which show that the petitioners have damaged the reputation of the complainant by holding broom in front of the photo of the complainant.
6. Considered the rival submissions and the averments made in the complaint.
7. The material averments made in the complaint are at paragraph 7, which read as under:
“ That, on 12.10.2013, the complainant received number of calls from his friends and various persons inquiring about the news published in Kannada ‘Vijaya Wani’ daily and Kannada ‘Shakthi’ daily news paper, wherein the accused have made defamatory statement ad reckless allegations against the complainant pressurizing the D.C. for externment of the complainant from the district. And further, publishing the photograph of the complainant showing the accused No.11 i.e., Smt. Ponnachettira Bojammamma @ Bojakka holding broom stick on the photo of the complainant and the news read that, the women hit the photo of the complainant with the broom expressing their anger/anguish. The complainant was astonized and got annoyed by reading and seeing the said news items which has damaged the reputation, dignity and integrity of the complainant in the society considerably due to the reckless allegations and deliberately, knowingly made with a dishonest intention of insulting and defaming the complainant.”
8. There is nothing in the said complaint to show the complicity of the petitioners in the alleged offence. Hence, in my view, the same does not constitute the ingredients of the offence under Section 499 of IPC. There are not even remote averments in the complaint to show that the petitioners herein have made any scurrilous imputations against the complainant. It is not forthcoming in the complaint that the alleged publication was made either by the petitioners or at their instance. In the absence of these essential ingredients, the prosecution of the petitioners is legally untenable and opposed to the provisions of Sections 499/500 of IPC.
9. Consequently, the petition is allowed. The proceedings initiated against the petitioners herein in C.C. No.15337/2015 on the file of learned XXIV ACMM, Bangalore, are quashed.
Sd/- JUDGE Cs/-