Kushalbhai Ratanbhai Rohit & Ors vs State Of Gujarat [SC 2014 MAY]

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIAArticle 124 of the Constitution of India Constitution of India > 124. Supreme Court (1) There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges. (2) Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years: Provided that-- (a) a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office (b) a Judge may be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause (4). (2A) The age of a Judge of the Supreme Court shall be determined by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law provide. (3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court unless he is a citizen of India and-- (a) has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or (b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession; or (c) is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. (4) A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-third of the members of the House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity. (5) Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehavior or incapacity of a Judge under clause (4): (6) Every person appointed to be a Judge of the Supreme Court shall, before he enters upon his office, make and subscribe before the President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule. (7) No person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court shall plead or act in any court or before any authority within the territory of India.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTIONJurisdiction Authority by which courts receive and decide cases. Limited Jurisdiction: the authority over only particular types of cases, or cases under a prescribed amount in controversy, or seeking only certain types of relief, the District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. Original Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of the first court to hear a case.

Special Leave PetitionSpecial Leave Petition A petition seeking grant of special leave to appeal may be rejected for several reasons. For example, it may be rejected (i) as barred by time, or (ii) being a defective presentation, (iii) the petitioner having no locus standi to file the petition, (iv) the conduct of the petitioner disentitling him to any indulgence by the Court, (iv) the question raised by the petitioner for consideration by this Court being not fit for consideration or deserving being dealt with by the Apex Court of the country and so on. (Crl.) No.453 of 2014

Kushalbhai Ratanbhai Rohit & Ors vs State Of Gujarat

O R D E R

1. This petitionPetition αναφορά > παρακαλώ (Prayer) has been filed against the interim orderInterim order Once an interim order is passed in a suit or a proceeding, the interim relief granted to the party seeking interim relief could either be confirmed or vacated at the time of final disposal of the suit or proceedings, as the case may be. If the disposal is by way of an order of dismissal, interim relief which is granted as an aid of or ancillary to the final relief cannot continue beyond termination of such suit or proceedings. This is the position of law flowing from the decision in State of Orissa v. Madan Gopal Rungta ( [1952] 1 SCR 28 : (1951) SCC 1024) dated 27.12.2013, passed by the High CourtHigh Court High Court Judges in England and Wales handle complex and tough cases, sitting in London and traveling to court centers around the country. They preside over serious criminal and important civil cases, and support the Lord and Lady Justices in hearing appeals. High Court Judges are commonly referred to as ‘Mr/Mrs/Ms Justice surname’ and are given the prefix ‘The Honourable’. They are assigned to the King’s Bench Division, the Family Division, or the Chancery Division. The King’s Bench Division focuses on civil wrongs and judicial review, the Family Division deals with family law, and the Chancery Division handles various cases including company law and probate. Judges are appointed through a rigorous process overseen by the Judicial Appointments Commission. of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Criminal AppealCriminal Appeal Shankar Kerba Jadhav and others vs. The State of Maharashtra (AIR 1971 SC 840): "An appeal is a creature of a statute and the powers and jurisdiction of the appellate Court must be circumscribed by the words of the statute. At the same time a Court of appeal is a "Court of error" and its normal function is to correct the decision appealed from and its jurisdiction should be co-extensive with that of the trial Court. It cannot and ought not to do something which the trial Court was not competent to do. There does not seem to be any fetter to its power to do what the trial Court could do." No.2012 of 2006.

2. Facts and circumstances giving rise to this petition are :

A. That an FIR C.R. No.60 of 2001 was registered at Amraiwadi Police Station, Ahmedabad against one Mahalingam alias ShivaHara (हरति पापानीति । हृ + अच् ) शम्भु ईश पशुपति शिव शूलिन् महेश्वर ईश्वर शर्व ईशान शङ्कर चन्द्रशेखर भूतेश खण्डपरशु गिरीश गिरिश मृड मृत्युञ्जय कृत्तिवासस् पिनाकिन् प्रमथाधिप उग्र कपर्दिन् श्रीकण्ठ शितिकण्ठ कपालभृत् वामदेव महादेव विरूपाक्ष त्रिलोचन कृशानुरेतस् सर्वज्ञ धूर्जटि नीललोहित हर स्मरहर भर्ग त्र्यम्बक त्रिपुरान्तक गङ्गाधर अन्धकरिपु क्रतुध्वंसिन् वृषध्वज व्योमकेश भव भीम स्थाणु रुद्र उमापति अहिर्बुध्न्य अष्टमूर्ति गजारि महानट अज शिपिविष्ट नीलकण्ठ वृषाकपि । for the offence punishable under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short ‘NDPS Act’). Pursuant to the said FIR, case commenced which was committed to the Sessions Court, Bhadra, Ahmedabad and the trial commenced.

B. On 4.8.2003, Shiva, accused who was detained at Vadodara Central Jail, was required to be taken to the Sessions Court at Bhadra, Ahmedabad and for that purpose an escort was arranged, however, the case was adjourned and the accused while going back was taken for a cup of tea to the Tea stall outside the court compound. Subsequent thereto, he expressed the desire to see his ailing mother and the escort persons tried to find the auto-rickshaw but the escort persons started nauseating and vomiting as some substance was allegedly had been mixed up with tea by the relatives of the accused and it was at that timeTime χρόνος. Judicial: Where any expression of it occurs in any Rules, or any judgment, order or direction, and whenever the doing or not doing of anything at a certain time of the day or night or during a certain part of the day or night has an effect in law, that time is, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, held to be standard time as used in a particular country or state. (In Physics, time and Space never exist actually-“quantum entanglement”) यमः , पुं, (यमयति नियमयति जीवानां फलाफलमिति । यम् + अच् । विश्वे च कलयत्येव यः सर्व्वायुश्च सन्ततम् । अतीव दुर्निवार्य्यञ्च तं कालं प्रणमाम्यहम् ॥यमैश्च नियमैश्चैव यः करोत्यात्मसंयमम् । स चादृष्ट्वा तु मां याति परं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ॥ Shiva, accused absconded from the custody of these persons although in handcuffs. Thus, a complaint was lodged in this respect by the seniormost person of the said escort party. In this regard, Ist C.R. No.442 of 2003 was recorded for the offence punishable under Sections 328, 222, 223, 224and 114 of the IndianIndia Hind/ hend >hindia. Bharat Varsha (Jambudvipa used in Mahavamsha) is the name of this land mass. The people of this land are Sanatan Dharmin and they always defeated invaders. Indra (10000 yrs) was the oldest deified King of this land. Manu's jurisprudence enlitened this land. Vedas have been the civilizational literature of this land. Guiding principles of this land are : सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर । स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः । The place also been called Hindusthan in Pesia. The word Hendu is mentioned in Avesta. Read more Penal CodePenal Code Indian Penal Code (Naya Samhita-2023), Pakistan Penal code-1960, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as ‘IPC’).

C. After the investigationInvestigation Purpose of all investigation is to reveal the unvarnished truth. The constitutional courts are duty bound to ensure that the truth is revealed., chargesheet was filed against the escort personnel including the petitioners on 5.9.2005 and the petitioners were found guilty for the offence punishable under Section 222 IPC vide judgment and order dated 9.11.2006 and the petitioner no.1 was awarded 3 years’ RI and a fine of Rs.5,000/- and in default thereto, to undergo simple imprisonment for one year. Petitioner nos.2 and 3 were convicted under Section 222 IPC but they had been awarded the sentence for a period of two years each and a fine of Rs.2,000/-each, and in default thereto, to undergo simple imprisonment for six months.

D. Aggrieved, the petitioners preferred Criminal Appeal No.2012 of 2006 before the High Court of Gujarat and during the pendency of the appeal, the petitioners had been enlarged on bailBail It means release of a person accused of or suspected of commission of an offence from the custody of law upon certain conditions imposed by an officer or Court on execution by such person of a bond or a bail bond. "bailable offence" means an offence which is shown as bailable in the First Schedule, or which is made bailable by any other law for the time being in force; and "non-bailable offence" means any other offence; "bail bond" means an undertaking for release with surety; "bond" means a personal bond or an undertaking for release without surety. No person who has been arrested by a police officer shall be discharged except on his bond, or bail bond, or under the special order of a Magistrate. (S 60) vide order dated 22.11.2006. The appeal was finally heard on 11.12.2013 and the court took a view that sanction of the State GovernmentGovernment HM Govt consists of the Prime Minister, their Cabinet, and junior ministers, supported by the teams of non-political civil servants that work in government departments. The American Federal Government consists of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as “Cr.P.C.”) was necessarily required, and in view thereof, the order was dictated in open court allowing the appeal on technical issue. However, the order dictated in open court and acquitting the petitioners vide order dated 11.12.2013 was recalled by the court suo moto vide order dated 27.12.2013 and directed the appeal to be re- heard. The order had been recalled on the ground that the court wanted to examine the issue further as to whether in the facts and circumstances of the case where the accused had been police constables, the offence could not be attributed to have been committed under the commission of their duty where sanction under Section 197 Cr.P.C. would be attracted.

Hence, this petition.

3. Heard Shri Fakhruddin, learned senior counsel for the petitioners and Shri Anurag Ahluwalia, learned counsel for the State and perused the record.

4. We do not find any forcible submission advanced on behalf of the petitioners that once the order had been dictated in open court, the order to review or recall is not permissible in view of the provisions of Section 362 Cr.P.C. for the simple reason that Section 362 Cr.P.C. puts an embargo to call, recall or review any judgment or order passed in criminal case once it has been pronounced and signed. In the instant case, admittedly, the order was dictated in the court, but had not been signed.

5. In Mohan Singh v. King-Emperor 1943 ILR (Pat) 28, a similar issue was examined wherein the facts had been that the judgment was delivered by the High Court holding that the trial was without jurisdiction and a direction was issued to release the appellant therein. However, before the judgment could be typed and signed the court discovered that the copy of the notification which had been relied upon was an accurate copy and that the Special Judge had jurisdiction in respect of the offence under which the appellant therein had been convicted. Thereupon, the order directing the release of the accused was recalled and the appeal was directed to be heard de novo. When the matterMatter Normal matter is made of molecules, which are themselves made of atoms. Inside the atoms, electrons are spinning around the nucleus. The nucleus is made of protons and neutrons. Inside the protons and neutrons, exist indivisible quarks, like the electrons. All matter around us is made of elementary particles. ( building blocks of matter > quarks and leptons). All stable matter in the universe is made from particles that belong to the first-generation. Fundamental forces result from the exchange of force-carrier particles, which belong to a broader group called “bosons”. The strong force is carried by the “gluon”, electromagnetic force is carried by the “photon.” came up for re-hearing, the objection that the court did not have a powerPower The amount of energy transferred or converted per unit of time. In the International System of Units, the unit of it is the watt, equal to one joule per second. The capacity of energy infrastructure is rated using watts, which indicate its potential to supply or consume energy in a given period of time. A Power-plant rated at 100 MW has the potential to produce 100 MWh if it operates for one hour. to recall the order and hear the appeal de novo, was rejected.

6. In view of the provisions of Section 362 Cr.P.C. while deciding the case, the Patna High Court relied upon the judgment of Calcutta High CourtHigh Court at Calcutta The High Court at Calcutta (High Court of Judicature at Fort William>opened on 1st July 1862, with Sir Barnes Peacock as its first Chief Justice) was established by the Letters Patent dated 14th May 1862 (High Court's Act, 1861), which provided the jurisdiction and powers of the High Court. in Amodini Dasee v. DarsanDarsan दर्शन means to see, but in technical terms, it is a way to observe anything. Philosophy (Φιλοσοφία) is not the correct translation of it. Only six categories of Darshan have been accepted by the ancient scholars and learned people of Bharat. In a critical sense, Darshan refers to six non-scriptural disciplines of learning to obtain a Snata/Graduate degree from the University of Takshila, Varanasi, or Magadha etc. Ghose, 1911 ILR (Cal) 828 and the judgment of Allahabad High Court in Emperor v. Pragmadho Singh, 1932 ILR (All.) 132. A similar view has been reiterated by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in State of Bombay v. Geoffrey Manners & Co., AIRAIR All India Reporter 1951 Bom. 49. The Bombay High Court had taken the view that unless the judgment is signed and sealed, it is not a judgment in strict legal sense and therefore, in exceptional circumstances, the order can be recalled and altered to a certain extent.

7. In Sangam Lal v. Rent Control and Eviction Officer, Allahabad & Ors., AIR 1966 All. 221, while dealing with the rent control matter, the court came to the conclusion that until a judgment is signed and sealed after delivering in court, it is not a judgment and it can be changed or altered at any time before it is signed and sealed.

8. This Court has also dealt with the issue in Surendra Singh & Ors. v. State of U.PUttar Pradesh Ancient Aryavarta Region (आर्यावर्त) > District Agra Aligarh Ambedkar Nagar Amethi Amroha Auraiya Ayodhya (Saket) Azamgarh Baghpat Bahraich Ballia Balrampur Banda Barabanki Bareilly Basti Bhadohi Bijnor Budaun Bulandshahar Chandauli Chitrakoot Deoria Etah Etawah Farrukhabad Fatehpur Firozabad Gautam Buddha Nagar Ghaziabad Ghazipur Gonda Gorakhpur Hamirpur Hapur Hardoi Hathras Jalaun Jaunpur Jhansi Kannauj Kanpur Dehat Kanpur Nagar Kasganj Kaushambi Kushi Nagar Lakhimpur Kheri Lalitpur Lucknow (Capital) Maharajganj Mahoba Mainpuri Mathura Mau Meerut Mirzapur Moradabad Muzaffar Nagar Pilibhit Pratapgarh Prayagraj Raebareli Rampur Saharanpur Sambhal Sant Kabir Nagar Shahjahanpur Shamli Shravasti Siddharth Nagar Sitapur Sonbhadra Sultanpur Unnao Varanasi  ., AIR 1954 SC 194 observing as under:

“Now up to the moment the judgment is delivered Judges have the right to change their mind. There is a sort of ‘locus paenitentiae’ and indeed last minute alterations often do occur. Therefore, however much a draft judgment may have been signed beforehand, it is nothing but a draft till formally delivered as the judgment of the Court. Only then does it crystallise into a full fledged judgment and become operative. It follows that the Judge who “delivers” the judgment, or causes it to be delivered by a brother Judge, must be in existence as a member of the Court at the moment of delivery so that he can, if necessary, stop delivery and say that he has changed his mind. There is no need for him to be physically present in court but he must be in existence as a member of the Court and be in a position to stop delivery and effect an alteration should there be any last minute change of mind on his part. If he hands in a draft and signs it and indicates that he intends that to be the final expository of his views it can be assumed that those are still his views at the moment of delivery if he is alive and in a position to change his mind but takes no steps to arrest delivery.

But one cannot assume that he would not have changed his mind if he is no longer in a position to do so. A Judge’s responsibility is heavy and when a man’s life and liberty hang upon his decision nothing can be left to chance or doubt or conjecture; also, a question of public policy is involved. As we have indicated, it is frequently the practice to send a draft, sometimes a signed draft, to a brother Judge who also heard the case. This may be merely for his information, or for consideration and criticism. The mere signing of the draft does not necessarily indicate a closed mind. We feel it would be against public policy to leave the door open for an investigation whether a draft sent by a Judge was intended to embody his final and unalterable opinionOpinion A judge's written explanation of a decision of the court. In an appeal, multiple opinions may be written. The court’s ruling comes from a majority of judges and forms the majority opinion. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law on which the decision is based. A concurring opinion agrees with the end result of the court but offers further comment possibly because they disagree with how the court reached its conclusion. or was only intended to be a tentative draft sent with an unwritten understanding that he is free to change his mind should fresh light drawn upon him before the delivery of judgment.”

9. Thus, from the above, it is evident that a Judge’s responsibility is very heavy, particularly, in a case where a man’s life and liberty hang upon his decision nothing can be left to chance or doubt or conjecture. Therefore, one cannot assume, that the Judge would not have changed his mind before the judgment become final.

10. In Iqbal Ismail Sodawala v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors., AIR 1974 SC 1880, the judgment in Surendra Singh (supra) referred to hereinabove was considered in this case. In that case, criminal appeal was heard by the Division Bench of the High Court, the judgment was signed by both of them but it was delivered in court by one of them after the death of the other. It was held that there was no valid judgment and the case should be re-heard. This Court took the view that the judgment is the final decision of the court intimated to the parties and the worldWorld Κόσμος at large.

11. In view of the above, we are of the considered opinion that no exception can be taken to the procedure adopted by the High Court in the instant case.

12. The petition is devoid of any merit and is accordingly dismissed.

(Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN)

(J. CHELAMESWAR)

(M.Y. EQBAL)