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2012 (1) TMI 352 - HC - Indian LawsMaintainability of petition - Misappropriation of Sales Tax Forms - Offence punishable u/s 406 IPC - Period of limitation for u/s 468(2)(c) CrPC for taking cognizance - whether the petitioners having availed of the remedy of revision should be allowed to take recourse to section 482 CrPC as a substitute for virtually initiating a second revisional challenge or scrutiny which is clearly barred U/s 397(3) CrPC? - HELD THAT:- The issue regarding filing of petition before the High Court after having availed first revision petition before the Court of Sessions has come up before the Supreme Court and this Court repeatedly. While laying that section 397(3) CrPC laid statutory bar of second revision petition, the courts have held that High Court did enjoy inherent power under section 482 CrPC as well to entertain petitions even in those cases. But, that power was to be exercised sparingly and with great caution, particularly, when the person approaching the High Court has already availed remedy of first revision in the Sessions Court. This was not that in every case the person aggrieved of the order of the first revision court would have the right to be heard by the High Court to assail the same order which was the subject matter of the revision before Sessions Court. It was all to depend not only on the facts and circumstances of each case For the purpose of computing limitation, it is the date of the complaint that is material and not the date on which the cognizance come to be taken by the Magistrate and the process was issued against the petitioner. The subsequent stages such as examination of complainant and the witnesses, the consideration of the case, the preliminary inquiry etc. take considerable time and it would therefore, be unreasonable and irrational to compute the period of limitation from the date when the cognizance was taken or the process was issued. Furthermore, these processes are dependent on various factors including the time available to the court which is something over which the complainant has no control. It would, thus, be wholly untenable to hold that a complaint if presented within the period of limitation would be barred merely because a certain amount of time elapsed until the cognizance could be taken or the order of process could be passed. Since the complainant continued requesting the petitioner to return the file and it was not returned for two years, the complainant was compelled to file a complaint with the police on 30th October 1998. I do not find any merit in the submission that the complaint was time barred. In view of the discussion and having seen that the present case was at the stage of framing of charges and that both the courts below have appreciated the allegations against the petitioner and have formed a prima facie view of the framing of charges u/s 406 IPC. In view of entrustment and refusal to return the file, I do not find any infirmity or illegality in the impugned order. Not only that, the case does not fall within the parameters of invoking inherent and extraordinary jurisdiction u/s 482 CrPC or under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, even otherwise it does not call for any interference by this court on merits. Hence, the petition is hereby dismissed. Nothing in this order shall amount to expression of opinion on the merits of case.
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