Can a charge sheet be quashed on the ground that the material relied on is technically impossible?
Coram: Justice R.Vijayakumar
No. Whether a recovered button phone can support the internet calls alleged depends on the model and on whether it supports a 4G network — the Court took judicial notice that such an application can be installed on a button phone — and whether the call records establish a meeting of minds is likewise a subject matter of evidence. A charge sheet cannot be quashed on contested grounds of that kind.
Indian Penal Code, 1860 — s.120B — s.109 — s.307 — Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.173(5) — s.173(8) — Quashing of charge sheet — Confession of a co-accused — Additional documents — Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.173(5) — Additional documents after the charge sheet — Held: The word "shall" in s.173(5) is directory and not mandatory; documents omitted when the report was filed may be produced later with the permission of the Court, and further investigation is in any event not precluded. (¶19, ¶20) Confession to a police officer — Inadmissible unless it leads to recovery — Held further: A confession made to a police officer is inadmissible in law unless it leads to recovery, and no recovery was made from the petitioners. (¶13, ¶14) Quashing of charge sheet — Contested questions are matters of evidence — Held further: Whether a recovered handset supports the calls alleged, and whether the call records bear out a meeting of minds, are subjects of evidence at trial and no ground to quash the charge sheet. Petitions dismissed. (¶18, ¶21, ¶22)
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