The petitioner herein is the original 3rd accused in C.C.No.209/2010 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thalassery. The offences involved are under sections 143, 147 and 379 IPC read with section 149 IPC. The other seven accused in the case faced trial before the learned Magistrate and obtained a judgment of acquittal on 31.7.2012, 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 the petitioner herein was split up and refiled during the proceeding, when he remained consistently absent. It is now pending as C.C.No.1274/2012 before the trial court. He now seeks orders quashing the prosecution as against him on the ground that continuance of prosecution in the above circumstances will not serve any purpose.
2. Annexure A1 judgment in C.C.No.209/2010 shows that the trial court acquitted all the other accused when all the material witnesses turned hostile to the prosecution. The judgment shows
Crl.M.C.No.6644 of 2014
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that none of them supported the prosecution, in view of an amicable settlement arrived at between the parties. In such a situation, the prosecution cannot in any manner improve the case as against the petitioner, and it is definite that those witnesses will not in any manner support the prosecution, if the case against the petitioner goes to trial. In short, such prosecution will be a sheer waste of time. Applying the guidelines made by the Honourable Supreme court, this prosecution can be quashed.
In the result, the petition is allowed. The prosecution against the petitioner in C.C.No.1274/2012 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thalassery, will stand quashed under section 482 of the Cr.P.C. Accordingly the petitioner will stand released from prosecution, and the bail bond, if any, executed by him will stand discharged.
Sd/-
P. UBAID, JUDGE
vpv