Sessions Court Can Take Cognizance Against Accused Not Yet Chargesheeted Without Waiting Till Stage Of S.319 CrPC: Rajasthan HC

Rajasthan High Court has underscored that a Sessions Court can take cognizance against the accused not yet charge-sheeted by the police without waiting for the stage prescribed under Section 319 Cr.P.C.

After an elaborate discussion of the relevant case laws, the single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand came to the conclusion that the Additional Sessions Court, as a court of original jurisdiction, has correctly taken cognizance against the remaining accused under Section 193 Cr.P.C after the committal of the case by the Magistrate.

“….it is clear from the authoritative judgments of Hon'ble Apex Court…. that the Court of Sessions is empowered to take cognizance against those accused persons under Section 193 CrPC who have been left by the police and who have not been arrayed as an accused by Investigating Agency with the charge-sheet”, the court observed in its order.

For reaching the above conclusion, extensive reliance was placed on the decisions in Dharam Pal & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors. 2014 (3) SCC 306, Balveer Singh v. State of Rajasthan (2016) 6 SCC 680 , and Nahar Singh v. The State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 291.

While dismissing the criminal revision petition filed by the accused, the court also stated that the Additional Sessions Judge committed an irregularity by taking cognizance again with respect to those 6 accused against whom cognizance was already taken by the Magistrate. However, the bench sitting at Jaipur opined that such irregularity does not come within the ambit of 'an illegality which vitiates the proceedings against the petitioners under Section 461 CrPC'.

The charge sheet was initially submitted against 6 persons by the police against all of whom the magistrate took cognizance in 2013. Thereafter, the case was committed to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, where again, cognizance was taken against the very 6 accused persons for the very same offenses.

Later, at the stage of framing charges, an application by the complainant under Section 193 Cr. P.C for taking cognizance against the rest of the persons involved in the alleged crime was allowed by the Additional Sessions Judge in 2018. The criminal revision has been filed by those newly arraigned accused, not part of the original chargesheet, against whom such fresh cognizance has been taken in 2018. The cognizance was taken against the petitioners for the offenses under Sections 147, 148, 341, 323, 325, 308, and 149 IPC.

The court iterated the settled position of law in the constitutional bench judgment in Dharam Pal that the Court of Sessions is conferred with the original jurisdiction under Section 193 CrPC; it is competent to take cognizance against the accused persons not charge-sheeted by the police after the committal of a case by the magistrate.

According to the F.I.R., 13-15 persons were accused of assaulting and inflicting injuries on the father of the complainant. Though all the petitioners' names were mentioned in the statements of the injured and the accused, only 6 persons were charge-sheeted after investigation and sent up for trial.

For Petitioners: Mr. Dinesh Pareek

For Respondents: Mr. Mahendra Meena, PP, Ms. Vaishnavi for Mr. Ashvin Garg

Case Title: Babu Shekh & Ors v. State of Rajasthan & Anr.

Case No: S.B. Criminal Revision Petition No. 1054/2019

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 57

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