Friday, January 21 2005 14:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: State is the sole in-charge of conducting prosecution in a criminal case but, even then, its recommendation for withdrawal of a case against an accused could be rejected by the trial court if it was not in the interest of justice, the Supreme Court has ruled.

"The law is very clear that the withdrawal of prosecution can be allowed only in the interest of justice," a Bench comprising Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice B N Srikrishna said in a recent judgement.

The Bench set out a two-point guideline under which a case could be withdrawn- first, if the case was likely to end in acquittal and secondly, if such withdrawal is likely to bring back harmony among the parties.

In the referred case, the public prosecutor had filed an application for withdrawal of the case on the ground that the case had been pending for seven years and that the accused had suffered continuous mental harassment throughout the trial.

The Magistrate and the Sessions Court both had rejected the plea for withdrawal of the case. However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court allowed the withdrawal of the case under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Setting aside the High Court order, the apex Court said discretion under section 321 of CrPC was to be carefully exercised by the Court having due regard to all the relevant facts and "shall not be exercised to stifle the prosecution, which is being done at the instance of the aggrieved parties or the State for redressing their grievance."

Justice Balakrishnan, writing the judgement for the Bench, said every crime was an offence against the society and if the accused committed an offence, society demands that he should be punished.

Punishing the person, who perpetrated the crime was an essential requirement for the maintenance of law and order and peace in the society, he said and added "therefore, the withdrawal of the prosecution shall be permitted only when valid reasons are made out for the same."

Discussing the two-point guidelines set out by the Bench for withdrawal of prosecution, Justice Balakrishanan said, "if the case is likely to end in an acquittal and the continuance of the case is only causing severe harassment to the accused, the Court may permit withdrawal of the prosecution."

"If the withdrawal of the prosecution is likely to bury the dispute and bring about harmony between the parties and it would be in the best interest of justice, the court may allow withdrawal of prosecution," he said.

Pendency of trial for a long period of time alone could not be consideration for the courts to allow withdrawal of prosecution, the Bench said while directing restoration of the said case.