CHANDI PULIYA versus THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL

Citation: [2022] 14 S.C.R. 566 · Decided: 12-12-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M.R. SHAH

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Judgment (excerpt)

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 14 S.C.R.
566
CHANDI PULIYA
v.
THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL
(Criminal Appeal No. 2249 of 2022)
DECEMBER 12, 2022
[M. R. SHAH AND C. T. RAVIKUMAR, JJ.]
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: ss.227, 300, 228 –
Discharge application – Appellant was acquitted by the Sessions
Court for the offences under ss. 148, 149, 448, 364 and 506 IPC –
Second FIR filed against appellant alleging inter alia that he and
other co-accused had caused the death of the father of the first
informant, the same person that they had alleged to have kidnapped
and were granted acquittal – Appellant approached the High Court
for quashing the criminal proceedings arising out of the second
FIR – Dismissing the petition, High Court granted appellant liberty
to take up all points of law at the time of framing of charge – Special
leave petition preferred by the appellant was dismissed by this Court
– Accordingly, appellant filed discharge application u/s. 227 r/w
300(1) CrP.C before trial court – Trial court dismissed the discharge
application by observing that such an objection can be raised at
the stage of framing charge and not at the stage of discharge –
High Court dismissed the revision application filed by the appellant
– Held: The stage of discharge u/s. 227 is a stage prior to framing
of the charge (u/s. 228 Cr.P.C.) and it is at that stage alone that the
court can consider the application u/s. 300 – It is after the court
rejects the discharge application, it would proceed to framing of
charge u/s. 228 – High Court’s order is quashed – Matter remitted
to trial court to consider discharge application.
Remitting the matter to trial court, the Court
HELD: On a fair reading of Section 227 Cr.P.C, if, upon
consideration of the record of the case and the documents
submitted therewith, and after hearing the submissions of the
accused and the prosecution, the Judge considers that there is
not sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused, he shall
discharge the accused and record his reasons for doing so. As
[2022] 14 S.C.R. 566
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per Section 228 Cr.P.C. only thereafter and if, after such
consideration and hearing, the Judge is of the opinion that there
is ground for presuming that the accused has committed an
offence, the trial Court shall frame the charge. Therefore, the
stage of discharge under Section 227 Cr.P.C. is a stage prior to
framing of the charge (under Section 228 Cr.P.C.) and it is at that
stage alone that the court can consider the application under
Section 300 Cr.P.C. Once the court rejects the discharge
application, it would proceed to framing of charge under Section
228 Cr.P.C. [Para 7][571-C-E]
Ratilal Bhanji Mithani v. State of Maharashtra [1979]
1 SCR 993 – referred to.
Case Law Reference
[1979] 1 SCR 993
referred to
Para 4.1
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
2249 of 2022.
From the Judgment and Order dated 27.06.2022 of the High Court
of Calcutta at Kolkata, West Bengal in CRR No.1328 of 2022.
Siddhartha Dave, Sr. Adv., Ms. Suruchi Suri, Ms. Srilina Roy,
Prastut Dalvi, Chanchal Kumar Ganguli, Advs. for the Appellant.
Sunil Fernandes, Ms. Astha Sharma, Divyansh Tiwari, Ravinder
Singh, Ms. Raveesha Gupta, Ms. Mantika Haryani, Sanjeev Kaushik,
Shreyas Awasthi, Devvrat Singh, Advs. for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
M. R. SHAH, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment
and order dated 27.06.2022 passed by the High Court at Calcutta in
Revision Application No. 1328/2022, by which the High Court has
dismissed the said revision application preferred by the appellant –
accused and has confirmed the order passed by the learned Special
Court, West Bengal (MP & MLA case), Bidharnagar dated 4.3.2022
passed in Special Case No. 120 of 2018, the appellant-accused has
preferred the present appeal.
CHANDI PULIYA v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL
[M. R. SHAH, J.]
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 14 S.C.R.
3. The facts leading to the present appeal in nutshell are as under:
That the appellant herein was tried earlier for the offences
punishable under Sections 148, 149, 448, 364 & 506 of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) in FIR No. 61/2002 dated 26.09.2002 of Keshpur Police
Station. The appellant came to be acquitted by the learned Sessions
Court vide judgment and order of acquittal dated 21.05.2010. That
thereafter on 6.6.2011, after a period of nine years from the date of
registration of the

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