Basir-Ul-Huq and Others v. The State of West Bengal (1953 INSC 34)

Court: Supreme Court of India
Decided: 10 April 1953
Bench: Mehr Chand Mahajan, Vivian Bose, B. Jagannadhadas

Headnote

Criminal Procedure Gode, 1898, ss. 190, 195-Indian Penal Gode, 1860, ss. 182, 297, 500-Report to police all'9ing X had killed his 11iother-Trespass ivith police on cremation ground-Report fo11nd false-Oornplaint by X for trespass and defrin.ation-Main-tainability-Jurisdiction to take counizance of ofjence-Whether barred by s. 195, Criminal Procedure Gode.

s.c.R. SUPREME COURT REPOR'l'S 837

The accused fo<lged information at a police station that X had 1953 ]Jeaten and throttled his mother to death and when the funeral pyre was in flames he entered the cremation ground \Vith the Busir-uJ.Huq police. The dead body \Vas examined and the complaint was fonnrl and Others to be false. On the complaint of X, the accused was charged with v. offences under section 297, Indian Penal Code (trespass to wound The State of religious feelings) and section 500, Indian Penal Code (defamation). West Bengal It was contended that, as the complaint disclosed offences under sections 182 and 211, Indian Penal Code, the Court could not take cognizance of the case except on a complaint by the proper autho-rity under section 195, Crimin.I Procedure Code:

lield, (i) that the facts which constituted the offence under section 297 were distinct from those which constituted an offence under section 182, as the act of trespass was alleged to have been committed after the making of the false report, so section 195 was no bar to the trial of the charge under section 297.

(ii) As regards the charge under section 500, where the allegations made in a false report disclose two distinct offences, one against a public servant and the other against a pri vale indi-vidual, the latter is not debarred by the provisions of section 195, Criminal Procedure Code, from seeking redress for the offence committed against him.

Satish Chandra Chakravarti v. Ram Dayal De (24 C.W.N. 982); Hori Ram Singh v. The Crown [1939] E'.C.R. 139 referred to.

Section 195 cannot however be evaded by the device of charg-ing a person with an offence to which that section does not apply and then convicting him of an offence to which it does, on the ground that the latter offence is a minor one of the same character, or by describing the offence as one punishable under some other section of the Indian Penal Code, though in truth and substance the offence falls in the category of sections mentioned in section 195, Criminal Procedure Code.

CRIMINAL APPELLATE Jumsmc·rroN: Criminal Ap-peals Nos. 26 and 27 of 1952. Appeals under Article i34 (1) (c) of the Constitution of India from the Order dated 4th February, 1952, of the Calcutta High Court (CIIAKRAVARTTI and SINHA JJ.) in Criminal Revision Nos. 102 and 103 of 1952.

S.C. Das Gupta and A.K. Dutt for the appellants. B. Sen for the respondent.

Arun Kwmar Datta for the complainant.

1953. April 10. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by IliAHAJA::-1 J.

-------- --. -------- - -- ---- -- --.. ,. ,_, ' -=--~-~ -

838 :SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1053]

~illIAJAN J.-These two appeals aris{l.in the follow-ing ' circumstances: One Mokshadamoyec Dassi, Ba~ir-ul-lluiz mother ofDhirendra Nath Bera, died some time in the

andO!hm

v. -eveniiig of the 3rd September, 1049. At the moment TheStateoL __ ofher death Dhircndra Nath \rns not present at the West Ben~al - house. On his return at about 8-30 p.m. he along

with some other persons took the dead body to the Mahaja-nJ. cremation grourid. It appears that Nurul Huda, the

appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 27 of 1952, had lodged information at the police station to the effect that Dhirendra Nath had beaten and throttled his mother to death. \Vhen the funeral pyre was .in flames, Nurul Huda along with the appellants in Cri-minal Appeal No. 26 of 1952 and accompanied by the sub-inspector of police arrived at the cremation ground. The appellants pointed out the dead body and told the sub-inspector that ' the complainant had killed his mother by throttling her and that there were marks of injury on the body which they could show to the sub-inspector if he caused the body to be brought down from the pyre. At their suggestion the fire was extin-guished and the dead body was taken down from the pyre in spite of the protests from the complainant. On an examination of the dead body it was found that there were no marks of injury on it and the appellants were unable to point out any such marks. The body was however sent for post-mortem examination which was held on 5th September, 1049, but no injury was found on the person of the deceased. The sub-inspector after investigation reached the conclusion that a false complaint had been made against Dhirendra Nath,

On the 24th September, 1049, Dhirendra Nath filed a petition of complaint in the Court of the Sub-Divi-sional Officer of Uluberia in the district of Howrah against the appellants in both the cases and one San-waral Huq. It was alleged in the complaint that the information given by Numl Huda to the police was false, that Nurul Huda and the other appellants had made imputations mala fide out of enmity against him with the intention of harming his reputation and that to wound his religious feelings they had trespassed on the cremation ground and mused the <len,d body to be 1953 biken nut hy making false impubtions.

The appellants were tried befOTe Shri R. Ray ond-Others Choudhury, :Vfagistrate 1st class, 1Tluberia, on charges v, under sections 297 and 500, Indian Penal Code. The Th1-; State of charges framed against them were in these terms :--- lVest Bengal.

"( 1) That you on or about the 17th day of Bhn,dra, AlahajffnJ. 1:356 B.S. at Pamhila, P. S. Shyampur, with the inten-tion of wounding the religious feelings of P. W. 1, Dhirendra Xt1th Bera, the comp]n,inant, committed trespass upou the cremation ground where the funeral rites of the mother of the complainant were being per-formed and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 297, Indian Penal Code, and within my cognizance ;

(2) That you on or abqut the 1 ith day of Bhaclra, 1356 B. S. at Panshila, P. S. Shyampur, defamed P. vV. 1, Dhirendrn Nath Bera, the complainant, by making imputation to the effect that he had killed his mother intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation would harm the reputation of the complainant and thereby com-mitted an offence punishable under section 500, Indian Penal Code, and within my cognizance."

'None of these charges relates to the falsity of the report made to the police or contains facts or allega-tions which disclose an offence under section 182, Indian Penal Code. The charge under section 297, Indian Penal Code, was a distinct one and concerned an act of the accused committed after the giving of the report. The charge under section 500 related to defa-matory and libellous allegations contained in the report itself.

It was e011tended on behalf of the defence that 1\urul Huda had lodged information with the police under a bona fide beliefcrcated in his mind on the state-ment of one Asiram Bibi and that none of the accused persons had entered the cremation ground as alleged by the complainant, 1953 The magistrate held the charges proved against all

the appellants and convicted each of them under sec-Basir-ul-Huq tions 297 and 500, Indian Penal Code. Each of the and Others

v. appellants was awarded three months' rigorous im-The State of prisonment on the charge under section 297 and each West Bengal of them was sentenced to a fine of Rs. 100 on the Mahajan .r. charge under section 500.

The appellants went up in appeal to the Sessions Judge of Howrah who by his order dated 31st July, 1950, set aside the convictions and sentences and acquitted them. He held that on the facts stated in the complaint the only offence that could be said to have been committed by the appellants was one under section 182 or section 211, Indian Penal Code, and that a court was not competent to take cognizance of those offences except on a complaint by a proper authority under the provisions of section 195, Criminal Procedure Code. Against the acquittal order an application in revision wa.s preferred to the High Court. This peti-tion came up for hearing before a Bench of the High Court (K. C. Das Gupta and P. N. Mookerjee JJ.). The learned judges reached the conclusion that on the facts alleged in the petition of complaint distinct offences under sections 182, 297 and 500, Indian Penal Code, had been disclosed. They however referred for the decision of the Full Bench the following ques-tion:-

"If the facts alleged in a petition of complaint, or in an information received by the magistrate, on which a magistrate can ordinarily take cognizance of an offence under section 190, Criminal Procedure Code, disclose an offence of which cognizance cannot be taken by the magistrate because of the special provisions of section 195, or 196, or 196-A, or 197, or 199, Criminal Proce-dure Code, is the magistrate also de).iarred because of this from taking cognizance of other offences disclosed by the facts alleged, which are not in ~ny way affected by the provisions of section 195, or 196, or 196-A or 197 or 199, Criminal Procedure Code."

The Full Bench answered the question referred in the negative. In respect of the conviction under section 297, Ipdian Penal Code, the learned Judges 1953 said that there was nothing in sections 195 to 199, Criminal Procedure Code, which Basi"'·Ul-Huq could in any way bar the prosecution of the and Othe1's v. appellants under that section, as it could in no way be The State of said that it arose out of the facts which would con-TV est Bengal, stitute an offence under section 182, or section 211, Indian Penal Code. On the other hand, it arose from MahajanJ~ an entirely different set of facts, namely, the trespass by the opposite parties in the burial ground and the removal of the corpse from the lighted funeral pyre.

With regard to the offence under section 500, it was observed that though the prosecution for defamation was based on the false information given to a public officer, that circumstance, however, was no bar for the prosecution of the appellants under that section.

In the result the application in revision was allowed, the order of acquittal was set asidr and the sessions judge was directed to re-hear the appeal on the merits.

After remand the appeal was heard on the merits and was dismissed. The convictions and sentences passed by the magistrate were confirmed. Against the order of the sessions judge the appellants went up in revision to the High Court but these applications were summarily dismissed. The appellants thereupon applied to the High Court for a certificate under article 134 (1) (c) of the Constitution for leave to appeal to this Court. In the application the order of the Full Bench dated 22nd June, 1951, was challenged. This applica-tion was opposed on behalf of the complainant on the ground that the interim order of the Full Bench not having been appealed against could not be challenged at that stage. Thus two substantial questions were argued in the leave application, namely,

1. whether it was open to the accused to question the correctness of the Full Bench decision, it not having been appealed from when it was passed, and,

2. whether the point decided by the Full Bench in itself was of sufficient importance to justify the grant-ing of a certificate under article 134(1 )( c).

195.J As the judgment of the Full Bench di4 not terminate

the proceedings but merely directed the appeal to be Ra8i1·-ul.Huq reheard, it was held that the petitioners could not and OtllerR appeal from it at that time and it was open to them

The State of to raise the point at this stage. The second question JV est Benaal. was considered of sufficient importance to justify the

grant of leave and leave was accordingly granted.

Headnote as published in the Digital Supreme Court Reports by the Supreme Court of India. Paragraph references point to the judgment below.

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Judgment

Ma.hajanJ, The learned counsel for the respondent raised a

preliminrory objection in order to canvass the first question mentioned above, while the learned counsel for the appellants canvassed the question of the correctness of the decision of the Full Bench on its merits. He contended that the magistrate had no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the complaint under section 500 and section 297, Indian Penal Code, as the facts disclosed constituted an offence under section 182 which offence could not be tried except on a complaint by a public servant.

Section 195, Criminal Procedure Code, on which the qnestion raised is grounded, provides, inter alia, that no court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under sections 172 to 188, Indian Penal Code, except on the complaint in writing of the pnblic servant con-cerned, or some other public servant to whom he is subordinate. The statute thus requires that without a complaint in writing oft he pnblic servant concerned no prosecution for an offence under section 182 can be taken cognizance of. It does not further provide that if in the course of the commission of that offence other distinct offences are eommitted, the magistrate is debarred from taking cognizance in respe';;t cf those offences as well. The allegations made in a complaint may have a double aspect, that is, on the one hand these may corrntitute an offence against the authority of the public servant or public justice, and on the other hand, they may also constitnte the offence of de-famation or some other distinct offence. The section does not per se bar the cognizance by the magistrate of that offence, even if no action is taken by the public servant to whom the false report has been made. It was however argued that if on the same facts an

S.C.lt. SCPREME COURT REPORTS 843

offence of whi.ch no cognizance can be taken under the 1953 provisions of section HJ.5 is disclosed and the same facts disclose another offence as well which is outside the BaR£r-ul-Hur; and Othe1·s purview of the section and prosecution for that other v. offence is taken cognizance of without the requirements 'l'!te State of of section 195 having been fulfilled, then the provisions H' t?.st Bengal. of that section would become nugatory and if such a course was permitted those provisions will stand defeat- }dahajan J. ed. It was further said that it is not permissible for the prosecution to ignore the provisimrn of this section by describing the offence as being punishable under some other section of the Penal Code.

In our judgment, tlw contention raised by the learn-ed counsel for the appellants is without any substance so far as the present case is concerned. The charge for the offence under section 297, Indian Penal Code, could in no circumstance, as pointed out by the High Court, be described as falling within the purview of section 195, Criminal Procedure Code. The act of trespass was alleged to have been eommitted subsequent to the making of the false report and all the ingredients of the offence that have been held to have been establish-ed on tlrn evidence concern the conduct of the appel-lants during the post-report period. In these circum-stances, no serious contention could be raised that the provisions of section 195 would stand defeated by the magistrate having taken cognizance of the offence under that section.

As regards the charge under section .500, Indian Penal Code, it seems fairly clear both on principle and authority that where the allegations made in >1 false report disclose two distinct offences, one against the public servant and the other against a private indi-vidual, that other is not debarred by the provisions of section 195 from seeking redress for the offence committed against him. Section 499, Indian Penal Code, which mentions the ingredients of the offence of defamation gives within defined limits immunity to persons making depositions in court, but it is now well settled that that immunity is a qualified one and is not absolute as it is in English law. Under section 198,

844 SUPREME cou:R'r HEPORTS [1953] 1953 Criminal Procedure Code, a complaint in, respect of an

offence under section 499, Indian Penal Code, can onlv I Busir-ul-Huq be initiated at the instance of the person defamed, i!1

and Otherfl like manner as cognizance for an offence under section

The State of 182 cannot be taken except at the complaint of the lV est Bengal. public servant concerned. In view of these provisions

there does not seem in principle any warrant for the Mahajan J. proposition that a complaint under section 499 in such

a situation cannot be taken cognizance of unless two persons join in making it, i.e., it can only be consider-ed if both the public servant and the person defamed join in making it, otherwise the person defamed is without any redress. The statute has prescribed distinct procedure for the making of the complaints under these two provisions of the Indian Penal Code and when the prescribed procedure has been followed, the court is bound to take cognizance of the offenoo complained of.

The decided cases fully support this view and our attention has not been drawn to any case which ha.s taken a contrary view as regards offences under section 500, Indian Penal Code. In 8atis Chandra Chakra-varti v. Ram Dayal De (1), five judges of the Calcutta High Court considered this question and held that I where the maker of a single statement is guilty of two distinct offences, one under section 211, Indian Penal Code, which is an offence against public justice, and the other an offence under section 499, wherein the personal element largely predominates, the offence under the latter section can be taken cognizance of without the sanction of the court concerned, as the Criminal Procedure Code has not provided for sanc-tion of court for taking cognizance of that offence. It I was said that the two offences being fundamentally distinct in nature, could be separately taken cognizance of. Tha.t they are distinct in character is patent from the fact that tho former is made non-compoundable, while the latter remains compoundable; in one for the the initiation of the proceedings the legislature requires the sanction of the court under section 195,

8.C.H. SUPREME COCRT REPORTS 845

Criminal Proce,dure Code, while in the other, l'ognizance 1953 can be taken of the offence on the complaint of the person defamed. It could not be denied that the Rus·ir-ul-Huq accused could be tried of charges under sections and nnd Othe1·s 182 v. 500, Indian Penal Code, separately on the same facts 'l'he State of pro1-ided the public servant as well as the person Tr est Bengal. defamed made complaints. If that is so, there is no reason why one cannot be tried independently of the il1ahajan J, other so long as the requirements of each are satisfied.

Harries C. J. while delivering the Full Bench decision in question examined all the earlier cases of the Calcutta High Court and observed that where upon the facts the commission of several offences is disclosed some of which require sanction and others do not, it is open to the complainant to proce~d in respect of those only which do not require sanction; because to hold otherwise would amount to legislating and adding very materially to the provisions of sections 195 to 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Sections 195 to 199 deal with the requisites for the prosecution of certain specified offences and the provisions of those sections must be limited to prosecutions for the offences actually indicated. If it was the intention of the legis-lature to make sanctions or complaints in a certain form necessary for the prosecution of all offences dis-closed by facts which would give rise to any of the offences specifically indicated in these sections, the legislature could have said so but it did not.

R,ecently this matter was canvassed before a Full Bench of the Madras High Court and it was held that in such cases it was open to the party defamed to take proceedings under section 499, Indian Penal Code, without the court filing a complaint in accordance with the provisions laid down in section 195. There the question was whether the alleged defamer who had given false evidence in a court could be prosecuted under section 499, Indian Penal Code, without a com-plaint by the court before whom he gave evidence and the question was answered in the affirmative after an exhaustive review of the decided cases of the difl:erent High Courts in India. It was said that if the offence of

84(i SUPREME COGRi1 REPORtS I i953J 1953 g1vmg false evidence in a judicial proceeding and

defamation do not belong to the same genus but aro .ha.jit·-ul-Huq distinct and separate in their characteristics and in-

a.nd Otlu;rs gredients, it was difficult to perceive any serious

'1.'he State of inhibition bv the Criminal Procedure Code for initiation TV est Bengal. and trial of one of these offences independently of

mitcrim resort to fulfilling the conditions necessary tn M aha)<1 n .] • rnnunence a prosecution for the other. These observa-

tions have apt application to tho present case. The ingredients of the offence under section 182 cannot be said to be the ingredients for the offence under sec-tion 500. Nor can it be said that the offence relating to giving false information relntes to the same group of offences as that of defamation.

Though, in our judgment, section l!J5 docs not bar the trial of an accused person for a distinct offence disclosed by the same facts and which is not included within the ambit of that section, it has also to be borne in mind that the provisions of that section cannot be evaded by resorting to devices or camouflages. The test whether there is evasion of the section or not i' whether the facts disclose prim.arily and essentially an offence for whieh a complaint of the court or of the public servant is required. In other words, the provi-sions of the section cannot be evaded by the device of charging n person with an offence to which that sec-tion does not :1pply and then convieting him of an oftence to which it docs, upon the ground that such latter offence is a minor offence of the same character, or by describing the offence as being 0110 punishable under some other section of the Indian Penal Code, though in tl'uth and substance the offence falis in the category of sections mentioned in section 195, Criminal Procedure Code. Merely by changing the garb or label of an offence which is essentially an offence covered by the provisions of seetion 195 prosecution foi:, such an offence cannot lie taken cognizance of by mis-describing it or by putting a wrong label on it.

Before concluding, reference may also be made to the decision of the Federal Court in Hori Ram Singh v. The Grown('). The appellant in that case was charged

(1) (1939] F.C.R. 159.

with offences. under sections 409 and 4 77-A, Indian .1953 Penal Code. The offence un<ler section 477-A could not be taken cognizance of withff1t the previous consent Bn&ir-ul-Huq (//Id Othe1·s of the Governor under section 2iO(l) of the Constitution v. Act, while the consent of the Governor was not required The State of for the institution of the proceedings under section 409, TVest Bengal. Indian Penal Code. The charge was that the accused dishonestly misapptopriated or converted to his own Jfahajan J. certain medicines entrusted to him in his official capa-C'ity as a sub-assistant surgeon in the Punjab Provin-cial Subordinate Medical Service. He was further charged that being a public servant, he wilfully and with intent to defraud omitted to record certain entries in a stock book of medicines belonging to the hospital where he was employe<l and in his possession. The proceedings under section 477-A were quashed by the Federal Court for want of jurisdiction, the consent of the Governor not having been obtained, but the case was sent back to the sessions judge for hearing on the merits as regards the charge under section 409, Indian Penal Code, and the order of acquittal passed by the sessions judge under that charge was set aside. Two distinct offences having been committed in the same transaction, one an offence of misappropriation under section409 and the other an offence under section 477-A which required the sanction of the Governor, the cir-cumstance that cognizance could not be taken of the latter offence without such consent was not considered a bar to the trial of the appellant with respect to the offence under section 409.

Leave to appeal under artide 134 ( 1 ) ( c) of the Constitution was limited to the question of law refer-red to the }tu]] Bench in this case, and it was distinctly said in the order disposing of the leave petition that leave would not have been granted had the scope of the appeal been limited to the merits of the case. It was observed that having regard to the findings re-corded by the fina,I court of fact, as also the evidence in the case the elements of both the offl•nces had been fullv established. The learned counsel for the appel-lants attempted to argue that on the facts found no 19.53 offence under section 297 could be said to have been

made out. This point, in our opinion, "is not open at Bn.sir-ul-Huq this stage, it having been held that all the ingredients and Others

v. of the offence had been established on the record. The State of Even otherwise there is no substance in the contention lV eNt Ben.gal. because the prosecution evidence is sufficient to hold

the offence proved against all the appellants .

11'1ohajan J.

For the reasons given above we hold that there is no substance in these appeals and they are accordingly dismissed.

Appeals dismissed. Agent for the appellants: Sukumar Ghose. I Agent for the respondent: P. K. Bose.

Agent for the complainant: 8. C. Bannerjee.

19.53 LAKSHMANA NADAR AND OTHERS

April 14. I

R. RAMIER.

[MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN and S. R. DAS JJ.] Hindu law-Will--Beqiwst to wife for her lifetime and to I daitghter absolutely after wife's lifetime-Estate taken by wife-TVhether ordinary life estate or Hindn widow's estate-Danghter's estate-Whether vested-Death of daitghter be/ore widow, effect of -Constrnction of Hindn will-Gnidina principles.

A Hindu Brahmin governed by the l'IIitakshara law made a \vill in \vhich he gave the following directions: "After my life. time, you, the aforesaid Rauganayaki Ammal, my wife, shall till your lifetime enjoy the aforesaid entire properties ... After your lifetime, Ramalakshmi Ammal, our daughter and her heirs shall enjoy them with absolute rights and powers of alie.nation such as gift, exchange and sale from son to grandson and so on for gener-ations. As regards the payment of maintenance to be made to 0, wife of iny late son, H, my wife Ranganayaki Ammal shall pay the same as she pleases and obtain a release deed." After the death of the testatol' his \vife entered into possession of his pro-perties bnt Lefore the r1eath of his wifo, his daughter and all her children died:

Held, (i) that on a proper constrndion of the will in the light of surrounding circumstances, the testator had conferred on bis

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