Published on: January 14, 2024 at 11:00 IST
Court: High Court of Calcutta
Citation: Al Amin Garments Haat (P) Ltd. v. Jitendra Jain (2024)
Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta has held that the proposed accused do not have a right of hearing at the stage of inquiry that is under Section 340(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. However, it is held that it is always open to the Court to conduct a preliminary inquiry to reach the finding as stated above, though, absence of any such preliminary inquiry would not vitiate a finding reached by the Court regarding its opinion. It is held that the preliminary inquiry contemplated in section 340(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is not for finding of guilt or innocence of the particular person but only for deciding whether it is expedient in the interest of justice to inquire into the offence which appears to have been committed.
10. The ratio of Pritish is that the person against who a complaint is made has a legal right to be heard only when the Magistrate calls the accused to appear before him. The person concerned will thereafter have the right to participate in the pre-trial inquiry envisaged in section 239 of the CrPC and it is open to the accused to satisfy the Magistrate that the allegations against him are without basis and he is entitled to be discharged.
14. This is the law as it stands today. In other words, a proposed accused does not have a right to be heard before the Court sends the complaint to the Magistrate for initiating prosecution proceedings under section 340 (1) of the CrPC. As stated above, section 340(1) does not wipe out the defence of the proposed accused or his/her right to participate in the proceedings before the Magistrate. The principles of natural justice are hence preserved in the proceedings before the Magistrate where the proposed accused has full opportunity to disprove the charges/allegations against him/her.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra