AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
Leave granted. Â
The challenge in the present appeal is to an order passed by the High Court of Telangana at Hyderabad on 9th December, 2019, whereby Criminal
Revision Case No.1154 of 2006 filed by the appellant against the order of conviction passed by the III Addl. Sessions Judge, (I Fast Track Court)
Nalgonda, was dismissed for want of prosecution.
The appellant faced trial before the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class for the offences under Section 493 and 420 IPC. The learned Magistrate
convicted the appellant for an offence under Section 420 IPC and sentenced him to undergo three years of rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of
Rs. 1000/- and in default to undergo simple imprisonment for three months. The appellant filed a Criminal Appeal which was dismissed. It is
thereafter, the appellant filed a Criminal Revision before the High Court which has been dismissed for want of prosecution. The petitioner was
ordered to be released on bail on 7th July, 2006.
Sub section (2) of Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 contemplates “no order under this Section shall be made to the prejudice
of the accused or other person unless he has had an opportunity of being heard either personally or by pleader in his own defenceâ€
We find that the Criminal Revision Petition should not have been dismissed for want of prosecution even if the petitioner before the High Court was
not represented. In that eventuality, the better course for the High Court was to appoint an Amicus Curiae and decide the Criminal Revision Petition
on merits.
In that view of the matter, the order passed by the High Court on 09.12.2019, is set aside. The matter is remitted back to the High Court to decide
the Criminal Revision Petition on merits and if necessary, by appointing an Amicus Curiae to prosecute the Criminal Revision filed by the Appellant.
The appeal stands disposed of in the above terms.