[Sec 482 CrPC] Accused Can Seek Discharge At Stage Of Commencement Of Trial Only If There Is Patent Miscarriage Of Justice: Kerala HC

While dismissing the petition seeking discharge of accused (Petitioner - Movie Actor) at the stage of commencement of trial after charges having been framed, the Kerala High Court refused to exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 as the accused failed to show that there was any patent miscarriage of justice in the proceedings.

Refusing to terminate the proceedings at this stage, a Single Judge Bench of Justice K. Babu observed that “test of prima facie case has to be applied before framing of charge. At the stage of framing charge, the probative value of the material on record cannot be gone in; the material brought on the record by the prosecution is accepted as true at that stage. The Court need not look into the delay in preferring the complaint at this stage.”

Advocate Saiby Jose Kidangoor appeared for the Petitioner, whereas Public Prosecutor Sangeetha Raj appeared for the Respondents

In a nutshell, the present petition is filed against the order passed by the Sessions Court, Ernakulum which had confirmed the order of the Trial Court refusing to discharge the accused (petitioner). The alleged complaint was filed against the Petitioner on grounds of outraging the modesty and using criminal force under Section 354 and Section 354-B of the IPC. The charges were framed after following the requisite provisions of warrant trial initiated otherwise than on a police report.

Upon perusal of the submission, the High Court while affirming the decision of the Trial Court to form an opinion to frame charges, examined the inbuilt element of presumption under Section 246(1) of CrPC and observed that the materials placed by the prosecution prima facie disclosed the existence of all the ingredients constituting the alleged offences.

While placing reliance on decision of Rajiv Thapar v. Madan Lal Kapoor [(2013) 3 SCC 330] in which it was observed that Section 482 is not a stage of evaluating the truthfulness of the allegations made, the High Court held that the Petitioner was not able to establish prima facie case of miscarriage of justice.

Hence, the Bench dismissed the petition.

Cause Title: Unni Mukundan v. State of Kerala and Ors.

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