Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 8: Special Railway Magistrate (Sub-Judge), Jammu Yahaya Firdous Ahangar has acquitted four accused booked by Channi Himmat Police under Section 498-A, 323, 109 RPC as the police failed to produce a single witness for five years after framing of charge on February 24, 2014.
The court while expressing its displeasure observed, “the omission on the part of the police is a matter of concern, particularly in a case where the complainant is a woman who has been allegedly subjected to cruelty and harassment under the pretext of dowry”.
The Special Railway Magistrate further observed, “this court keeping in view the pendency of the charge sheet since January, 3, 2011 directed the prosecution vide order dated November 20, 2017 to produce all the witnesses within six hearings failing which it was directed that appropriate orders shall be passed”.
“Some of the prosecution witnesses are the residents of district Kathua whereas rest of the three witnesses are residing within a radius of six kilometers from this court but prosecution has not taken any effort to call these witnesses”, the court said.
“The cases where the atrocities have been committed upon the woman must be on priority not only with the courts but with the prosecution as well as the executing agency and in this regard this court is of the view that the senior officers must seek periodical reports from the concerned agencies regarding the stage and status of all those cases where woman are involved or woman are subjected to the cruelties but it seems that no concrete steps are being taken by the supervisory officers of the prosecution to monitor these kinds of cases”, Special Railway Magistrate said.
While passing strictures over the poor functioning of the executing agency of Police and lack of supervision by the senior police officers, court dismissed the charge sheet for want of evidence and acquitted all the accused.
“A copy of this judgment be made available to IGP Jammu, SSP Jammu and Director Prosecution for information and necessary action”, court directed.
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