Binny John vs State of Kerala

Type Court Judgment Court Kerala Decided Jun 30, 2023

~4 min read

https://sooperkanoon.com/case/1362262

For advocates & juniors · 7-day free trial

Brief this judgment before chambers

Stop skimming 50 pages - get an 18-section AI Brief on this case, ask scoped follow-ups, and find related precedents with Semantic Search. Full trial, no card required.

18-section brief - facts, issues, ratio, relief
Ask this case - answers cite the judgment
Semantic search - find precedents by meaning
Research drawer - sections, cites, related cases

Citation: sooperkanoon.com/1362262
Court: Kerala High Court
Judge: Honourable Mr. Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V
Decided On: Jun 30, 2023
Case Number: Crl.MC/4059/2023

Parties & Advocates

Appellant / Petitioner

Binny John

Respondent

State of Kerala

Excerpt

.....in sc no.38/2018 of principal sub court / commercial court, kollam petitioner/accused no.1 :- binny john, aged 28 years s/o johnson, mundiyazhikam, thekkumkara, pullichira p.o, mayyanad, kollam, pin - 691304 by adv jomy k. jose respondents/state/de facto complainant :- 1 state of kerala represented by public prosecutor, high court of kerala, pin - 682031 2 arun .b, aged 27 years s/o babu, anoop bhavan, vadakkumkara east, umayanalloor p.o, thazhuthala village, kollam, pin - 691589 3 vinu .v, aged 26 years c/o vikraman pillai .k , mavelil veedu, naduvilakkara, umayanalloor p.o, thazhuthala village, kollam, pin - 691589 by sri.vipin narayan, sr.pp this criminal misc. case having come up for admission on 30.06.2023, the court on the same day passed the following:orderthe petitioner herein is the accused in c.p.no.13 of 2021 on the files of the judicial first class magistrate-ii, kollam. in the aforesaid case, he is facing prosecution for having committed offence punishable under sections 341, 323, 324 and 308 r/w section 34 of the ipc.2. the prosecution allegation is that on 06.04.2016 at about 10.30pm, the petitioner herein, along with the rest of the accused, attacked the party respondents with the intention of causing injuries. the investigation was conducted, and the final report was laid before the jurisdictional magistrate, and the case was committed to the court of sessions. the petitioner was not available for trial, and hence the case against the accused nos.2 and 4 was proceeded with. by judgment dated 16.12.2020 in s.c.no.38/2018, the accused who faced trial were found not guilty of the offense and had acquittal of all charges.3. it is on the basis of the acquittal of the co-accused that this petition is filed seeking to quash the proceedings on the ground that the substratum of the case as against the petitioner has been shattered.4. heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned public prosecutor.5. the learned counsel appearing for.....

Full Judgment

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V FRIDAY, THE 30TH DAY OF JUNE 2023 / 9TH ASHADHA, 1945 CRL.MC NO. 4059 OF 2023 CRIME NO.978/2016 OF Kottiyam Police Station, Kollam AGAINST THE ORDER IN SC NO.38/2018 OF PRINCIPAL SUB COURT / COMMERCIAL COURT, KOLLAM PETITIONER/ACCUSED NO.1 :- BINNY JOHN, AGED 28 YEARS S/O JOHNSON, MUNDIYAZHIKAM, THEKKUMKARA, PULLICHIRA P.O, MAYYANAD, KOLLAM, PIN - 691304 BY ADV JOMY K. JOSE RESPONDENTS/STATE/DE FACTO COMPLAINANT :- 1 STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, PIN - 682031 2 ARUN .B, AGED 27 YEARS S/O BABU, ANOOP BHAVAN, VADAKKUMKARA EAST, UMAYANALLOOR P.O, THAZHUTHALA VILLAGE, KOLLAM, PIN - 691589 3 VINU .V, AGED 26 YEARS C/O VIKRAMAN PILLAI .K , MAVELIL VEEDU, NADUVILAKKARA, UMAYANALLOOR P.O, THAZHUTHALA VILLAGE, KOLLAM, PIN - 691589 BY SRI.VIPIN NARAYAN, SR.PP THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 30.06.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:

ORDER

The petitioner herein is the accused in C.P.No.13 of 2021 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate-II, Kollam. In the aforesaid case, he is facing prosecution for having committed offence punishable under Sections 341, 323, 324 and 308 r/w Section 34 of the IPC.

2. The prosecution allegation is that on 06.04.2016 at about 10.30

pm, the petitioner herein, along with the rest of the accused, attacked the party respondents with the intention of causing injuries. The investigation was conducted, and the final report was laid before the jurisdictional Magistrate, and the case was committed to the Court of Sessions. The petitioner was not available for trial, and hence the case against the accused Nos.2 and 4 was proceeded with. By judgment dated 16.12.2020 in S.C.No.38/2018, the accused who faced trial were found not guilty of the offense and had acquittal of all charges.

3. It is on the basis of the acquittal of the co-accused that this petition is filed seeking to quash the proceedings on the ground that the substratum of the case as against the petitioner has been shattered.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned Public Prosecutor.

5. The learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner, relying on the

decisions of this Court in Moosa V Sub Inspector of Police [2006 (1) KLJ 349], Abbas T.K. V State of Kerala [2013 KHC 336] , Jalalu Rajan and Anr V State of Kerala [2013 KHC 177] and Ashraf Kancheriyil V State of Kerala [2011 (2) KHC 812] would submit that the continuance of proceedings against the petitioner would serve no purpose.

6. I have gone through the charge sheet (Annexure A1) and the

judgment of acquittal (Annexure A2) rendered by the lower court. I find that the

prosecution witnesses had turned hostile, and there was no evidence to link the accused with the crime. As held by this court in Moosa v. Sub Inspector of Police (2006 (1) KLT 552), although the reasoning of the judgment or the appreciation of evidence in the case of a co-accused therein are not grounds to grant any relief under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an exception to this rule exists when the substratum of the case is lost.

7. I am firmly of the view that there is no point in directing the

petitioner to face trial at this stage. It would be a futile exercise that would only serve to waste precious judicial time, which could be better spent on more productive matters. The prospects of conviction are extremely slim, as the prosecution was unable to produce any plausible evidence during the previous trial. This court would be justified in quashing the proceedings under Section 482 of the Code.

Resultantly, this petition is allowed. Annexure-AI final report and all proceedings pursuant thereto against the petitioner now pending as C.P.No.13 of 2021 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate-II, Kollam, are quashed.

Sd/- RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V, JUDGE SMA APPENDIX OF CRL.MC 4059/2023 PETITIONER ANNEXURES :- Annexure AI CERTIFIED COPY OF THE FINAL REPORT IN CRIME NO. 978/2016 OF KOTTIYAM POLICE STATION, KOLLAM DISTRICT DATED 20-08-2017 Annexure AII A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN SESSIONS CASE POLICE STATION KOLLAM DISTRICT DATED 16-12-2020 Annexure AIII ORIGINAL COPY OF THE AFFIDAVIT SWORN TO BY THE RESPONDENT NO: 2 DATED 12-04-2023 Annexure AIV ORIGINAL COPY OF THE AFFIDAVIT SWORN TO BY THE RESPONDENT NO: 3 DATED 12-04-2023

Same Court & Year Kerala · 2023 Same Parties Binny John vs State of Kerala Same Judge Honourable Mr. Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V