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Hardei v. State of U.P.

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 186 of 2016)Decided 30 Mar 2016
Criminal Appeal No. 186 of 2016
Justice Dipak Misra · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh

Background

A case of alleged embezzlement of about Rs. 49 lakh from a MNREGA rural-employment-scheme account in Uttar Pradesh was initially charge-sheeted only against a junior clerk and a block officer; the appellant Hardei, then the elected Block Pramukh, was neither named in the FIR nor charge-sheeted. During the trial, after prosecution witnesses (including the original complainant) testified that money could only be withdrawn with Hardei's joint signature along with the Block Development Officer, the trial court used its power under Section 319 CrPC to summon her to face trial as well. Hardei's revision petition against that summoning order was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court, and she appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing she was an illiterate woman who did not even know how to sign and had been duped by the actual culprit.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that an FIR is not expected to be an exhaustive account of every person involved, and the fact that the police did not initially charge-sheet a suspect does not limit a trial court's power under Section 319 CrPC to summon a person as an accused once evidence emerging during the trial itself implicates them. Since prosecution witness testimony indicated the appellant had jointly operated the account from which the money was embezzled, the Court found no good reason to interfere with the Magistrate's and High Court's orders. It dismissed the appeal, but clarified that none of the observations in the summoning order or in its own order should be taken as prejudging the merits, and that the appellant remains free to raise all available defences, including her claimed illiteracy and innocence, during the actual trial.

Lesson Learnt

Not being named in the original FIR or charge-sheet does not protect a person from later being added as an accused mid-trial: if evidence that emerges during witness testimony implicates them, Section 319 CrPC lets the trial court summon them to face trial, with their actual defence to be tested only at the trial itself.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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