Sikkim Court December 1983 Judgments

Leda Bhutia Vs. State of Sikkim and anr.

Court: Sikkim

Reported in: 1984CriLJ1429

ORDERA.M. Bhattacharjee, Actg. C.J.1. By the impugned order passed in a warrant-case instituted upon a complaint, the learned Magistrate has acquitted the accused on the ground of non-appearance of the complainant. This being a warrant-case, an acquittal could only be ordered after the charge was framed; but as no charge was framed before the impugned order of acquittal was passed, the order must and cannot but be treated as an order of discharge, by which alone an accused in a warrant-case can be released therefrom at apprecharge stage, whether under Section 253 or Section 259 or, say, Section 494(a) of the Criminal P.C. 1898, that being the Code still applying in Sikkim. In fact, both Mr. N.B. Kharga, the learned Public-Prosecutor, and Mr. A. Moulik, the learned Advocate appearing for the accused-respondent, have attempted to support the order as being one of discharge under Section 259 as no order of acquittal could in any way be passed in this Case at that stage when witnesses or t...