Test under Section 319 CrPC require strong ocular evidence: Punjab and Haryana HC

Relying on specific ocular testimony that directly attributes overt physical assault and caste-based abuses, the High Court has affirmed that trial courts possess absolute authority to summon non-charge-sheeted individuals as additional accused. The Court emphasized that police exoneration in Column No. 2 cannot shield a suspect when sworn evidence recorded during trial satisfies the threshold beyond a mere probability of involvement.

Justice Manisha Batra presided over the revision petition challenging the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Jhajjar, which had allowed an application under Section 319 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to summon the petitioner as an additional accused in an ongoing trial.

Court Observations and Directions

The High Court carefully evaluated the statutory framework under Section 319 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court in Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab ( "(2014) 3 SCC 92": 2014 CaseBase(SC) 496) and Manjeet Singh v. State of Haryana and others ( "(2021) 18 Supreme Court Cases 321": 2021 CaseBase(SC) 1262). The Court observed that the power to summon an additional accused is discretionary and extraordinary, to be exercised sparingly only when circumstances warrant more than a mere probability of complicity.

The Court, in its reasoning, observed: "The test that has to be applied is one which is more than prima facie case as has been established at the time of framing of charge, but short of satisfaction to an extent that the evidence, if goes unrebutted, would lead to conviction. In the absence of such satisfaction, the Court should refrain from exercising power under Section 319 of the Code."

Validating the trial court's order, the High Court noted that the complainant had explicitly detailed the petitioner's presence, the use of a danda, and the infliction of injuries, which was corroborated during examination-in-chief. The Court issued the following directions:

"Consequently, the present petition is dismissed, being devoid of any merit. As a consequence, the order dated 04.12.2019 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jhajjar, summoning the petitioner as an additional accused under Section 319 Cr.P.C., is upheld."

Background

The case stems from FIR No. 282 registered under Sections 323, 341, 506, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes And The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959. The complainant alleged that while walking near a village school, he found the petitioner along with others filling up an ancestral drinking well used by the SC community. Upon protesting, the complainant was allegedly kicked, beaten with a danda by the petitioner, and subjected to casteist slurs.

Following investigation, the police filed a final report charge-sheeting only one accused, while placing the petitioner's name in Column No. 2. However, during the trial, the complainant stepped into the witness box as PW-1 and categorically reiterated the specific roles and overt acts committed by the petitioner. The prosecution and complainant subsequently moved an application under Section 319 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which was allowed by the trial court qua the petitioner on December 4, 2019. The petitioner challenged this order before the High Court, contending that the trial court had acted mechanically on the same facts already investigated by the police. Dismissing the revision, the High Court held that specific ocular testimony recorded on oath provided sufficient legal justification to summon the petitioner to face trial.

Case Details:
Case No.: CRR No. 138 of 2020 (O&M)
Case Title: Pradeep Kumar v. State of Haryana and another
Appearances:
For the Petitioner(s): Ms. Tanu Bedi, Advocate
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Ashok Kumar Khubbar, Addl. A.G., Haryana; Mr. Ram Darshan Yadav, Advocate for respondent No. 2/complainant

Source: 2026 CaseBase(PNH) 10751