Holding

The High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by quashing the FIR, convicting non‑accused persons, and granting unprayed relief; such orders are set aside and the respondents are entitled to interim custody of the livestock.

Summary

The Supreme Court examined an appeal by animal‑right activist Bharat Kothari against a Gujarat High Court order that quashed an FIR alleging cruelty to nearly 2,000 goats and sheep and simultaneously convicted six livestock owners (respondents) under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, despite them not being named as accused. The Court held that a High Court cannot quash an FIR or grant relief under Section 482 of the CrPC or Article 226 of the Constitution when the petitioners are not the accused, and it cannot convict persons who were never charged. It also ruled that the High Court erred in directing compensation and costs that were not prayed for, and in ordering departmental action at the interim stage. Consequently, the quashing of the FIR, the convictions, and the unprayed relief were set aside, and the respondents were granted interim custody of the livestock subject to conditions. The appeal was partly allowed.

Issues considered

The High Court's jurisdiction to quash an FIR under Section 482 CrPC/Article 226 when the petitioners are not the accused.
Whether a court can convict persons who are not named as accused in the FIR.
The propriety of granting relief (compensation) not specifically prayed for in a writ petition.
The validity of directing departmental action and interim custody orders at the interim stage of proceedings.
The entitlement of the livestock owners to interim custody of the seized goats and sheep.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 451, s. 457, s. 482
Constitution of Indias. Article 226
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 279
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960s. 11(1)(d), s. 35(4)

Subjects

animal crueltylivestock seizurequashing of FIRSection 482 CrPCArticle 226 writ jurisdictioninterim custodycompensation not prayedjurisdiction overreachPrevention of Cruelty to Animals Act

Judgment

\

(2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R. 662

A BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI ·AND ANOTHER
v.
4 ..
DOSUKHAN SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS.
(Criminal Appeal No. 2020 of 2009)
NOVEMBER 04, 2009
B ":.

[HARJIT SINGH BEDI AND ·J.M. PANCHAL, JJ.]

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973:
.....

c s.482 - Quashing of complaint - Perusal .of complaint
indicated that 2000 goats and sheep were transported in a
cramped manner, denying them even food and water in the
process - High Court held that the offences as alleged in the
FIR were not made out and also recorded another finding that
"':'
excessive number of animals were carried in the vehicles due
D
to which they were subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering
- These findings were contradictory to each other - Quashing
-i
of the complaint in part was wrongly ordered after convicting ....
the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 for the offence punishable under
s.11(1)(d) of the 1960 Act - Penal Code, 1860 - s.279 -
E Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 - s.11(1)(d) -
Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954 - ss. 5, 6 and 8.

s.482 - Quashing of FIR at the instance of third party -

F
Held: Not permissible - Prayer for quashing FIR can be made
only by accused named in the FIR.
,
Relief:

Relief not prayed for - Held: cannot be granted - On
facts, respondent no. 1 to 6 did not pray before High Court for
G award of compensation from appellant no. 1 - Direction by
High Court to. appellant no. 1 to pay Rs. 75000 to each of
,
respondent not justified. )!'

Constitution of India, 1950:
H 662
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 663
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS.

Article 226 - Owner of goats and sheep filed writ petition A
-- • for custody of seized livestock - They were not alleged to have
committed any offence - Their conviction by High Court - ·
Propriety of - Held: They cannot be convicted for the alleged
;.
offence either at trial or by High Court while exercising
jurisdiction under Article 226. B
Article 226 - Interim order - In a writ petition seeking
custody of seized livestock - High Court by interim order
directed State Government to take appropriate departmental
action for illegal or unauthorised action on the part of police
officer - In the order of Magistrate no officer was named - c
Propriety of direction of High Court - Held: .Whether action
on part of police officers was illegal or not can be effectively
.... gone into only at the stage of final disposal of trial and not at
interim stage when court is hearing application for interim
custody of livestock - Direction to State government uncalled D

)>..
.. for.

Article 226 - Writ petition by respondents, livestock
owners for custody of their seized livestock - Held:
Respondents-owners by vocation trade in goats and sheep E
- Trade in which they are engaged not prohibited by any law
- They are entitled to interim custody of goats and sheep
subject to certain conditions.
t
Appellant no. 1 was an Animal Right Activist. He was
also Secretary of Rajpur-Deesa Panjarapole, which was
F
a public trust involved in preservation of old, infirm and
stray cattle. On June 16, 2008, he received message that
certain trucks were carrying goats and animals to be
taken to slaughter house. One of the trucks overturned
and as a result some animals died. Other trucks were G

- ., intercepted and in each truck, goats and sheep were
found to be conveyed in congested manner. Appellant
no.1 filed complaint for commission of offences
punishable under Section 279 IPC, Section 11 (1 )(d) of
H
664 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and Sections
5, 6 and 8 of Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954. ~ '"'

One of the accused persons lodged FIR on June 17
2008 alleging that appellant no.1 and his associates
illegally stopped the trucks and looted the trucks with the
8
help of local police. The police did not act on the said FIR.
Therefore, complaint was filed before the Chief Judicial
Magistrate. The Magistrate directed the Deputy
Superintendent of Police to make a report after ._
conducting investigation into the said complaint. Before
C the Magistrate, respondent no.1 to 6 filed an application
under Sections 451 and 457 Cr.P .C. for custody of cattle.
The Magistrate rejected the said application and directed
the Investigating Officer to take possession of all goats
and sheep from Rajpur-Deesa Panjarapole and to hand
D over the same to the Panjarapole of nearest district.
Aggrieved respondent 1to6 filed writ petition before High
Court. State Government challenged order of trial court .., .......
refusing to hand over custody of goats and sheep. High
Court passed interim order directing appellant no.1 to
E shift 1325 sheep and goats in proper manner to
Panjarapole under the supervision and in presence of
investigating officer. High Court convicted respondent
no.1 to 6 under section 11(1)(d) and imposed fine. At the
same time it quashed the FIR registered under- Section 1
F 279 IPC, Section 11 (1 )(d) of Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act, 1960 and Sections 5, 6 and 8 of Bombay
Animal Preservation Act, 1954. It directed appellant no.1
to pay by way of compensation and cost to each of
respondent 1 to 6 a sum of Rs.75000. It also directed
G respondent 8 which was entrusted with care and
custody of animal under interim order to hand over
surviving animals to respondent no.1 to 6. It also directed ~
State of Gujarat to take appropriate departmental action
for illegal actions on the part of any police officer. Hence
H the present appeal.
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 665
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS.

Partly allowing the appeal, the Court A
..
HELD: 1.1. The respondent Nos. 1 to 6 who were
original petitioners before th~ High Court, were not
accused of commission of any offence even remotely.
Even then the High Court convicted them under Section B
11(1)(d) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
and imposed fine. Those, who are not even remotely
alleged to have committed offence/offences, cannot be
convicted at all either at the trial or while exercising $0
called wide jurisdiction under Article 226 of the
Constitution. Therefore, conviction of the respondent
c
Nos. 1 to 6 under Section 11(1)(d) of the Prevention C)f
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and imposition of fine was
without jurisdiction, unauthorized, unwarranted and
illegal and has to be set aside. [Para 11] [678-D-F]
D
1.2. The respondent Nos. 1 to 6 were not accused.
Therefore, they could not have prayed for and, in fact,
have not prayed to quash the FIR and the proceedings
pursuant thereto. Prayer for quashing the FIR could be
made only by the accused, who have been named in the E
FIR. But none of them had chosen to invoke jurisdiction
of the High Court either under Section 482 Cr.P .C. C)r
under Article 226 of the Constitution for quashing the FIR.
The quashing of FIR at the instance of third parties is
t
unknown to law. Further, it is well settled that neither F
power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. nor jurisdiction under
Article 226 of the Constitution can be exercised by the
High Court to quash the complaint if prima facie
commission of offences is made out. A perusal of tile
complaint lodged by appellant no.1 indicated that close G
to 2000 goats and sheep were being transported in eight
y trucks, in a cramped manner, denying them even foqd
a~d water in the process and that carrying of more than
200 animals in a truck was cruelty by itself. The complaint
was quashed without taking into account the contents
H
..
666 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A thereof or discussing them. The examination of the
complaint lodged by the appellant No. 1 prima facie
indicates commission of offences mentioned therein by
the accused. Even before the investigation could be
completed and report submitted to the competent court
B by .the· Investigating Agency, the High Court arrived at a
pre-mature conclusion that no offences under Section
279 IPC and under Sections 5, 6 and 8 of the Bombay
Animal Preservation Act, 1954 were made out against the
accused and quashed the criminal proceedings. ·Such a ...
c relief to the accused, who had not approached the High
Court for quashing the FIR, could not have been.granted
I .

in a petition filed by the owners of goats and sheep
seeking c~stody of the live stock notwithstanding wide
amplitude of power available under Article 226 of the
Constitution. Moreover, High Court convicted the
D
respondent Nos. 1 to 6 under Section 11 (1 )(d) of the Act,
though none of them was alleged to have committed any ~

offence either under the Act or under l.P .C. or under the
Bombay Act of 1954 and on the other hand quashed the
complaint. The scrutiny of the impugned judgment
E showed that the State did not file any counter to the
petition filed by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 but the
Additional Public Prosecutor for the State submitted
before the Court to quash the complaint filed by the
appellant No. 1 if the complaint was found by the Court
F to be untenable and commission of cognizable offence
-· 1

was not made out. The High Court held that the offences
as alleged in the FIR were not made out and also
recorded another finding that excessive number of
animals were carried in the vehicles due to which they
G were subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering. These
findings were contradictory to each other in terms.
1(
Having held that no offence under Section 11 (1 )(d) of Act
was made out, why the respondent Nos. 1 to 6, who were
not shown as accused at all, were convicted under
H Section 11(1)(d) of the Act, could not be explained. Also
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 667
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS.

the grievance made by the appellant No. 1 that by A
overstepping its jurisdiction and giving a go-bye to the
regular trial, the High Court quashed criminal
proceedings without hearing the complainant/appellant
No. 1 cannot be ignored in view of peculiar facts of the
case. Quashing of the complaint in part should not have B
been ordered after convicting the respondent Nos. 1 to
6 for the offence punishable under Section 11(1)(d) of the
Act and, therefore, for all these reasons, the impugned
judgment was liable to be set aside. [Para 12] [679-A-H;
680-A-H; 681-A-C] C

2.1. A bare glance at the prayers makes it clear that
the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 did not pray that the appellant
No. 1 be directed to pay compensation and cost to each
of them. Every petition under Article 226 of the
Constitution must contain a relief clause. Normally, the D
court grants only those reliefs specifically prayed by the
petitioner. Though the court has very vide discretion in
granting relief, the court, however, cannot, ignoring and
keeping aside the norms and principles governing grant
of relief, grant a relief not even prayed for by the E
petitioner. [Paras 13 and 14] [682-C-D; 683-C-D]

Krishna Priya v. University of Lucknow (1984) 1 SCC
307; Om Prakash v. Ram Kumar (1991) 1 SCC 441, relied
on. F
2.2. The High Court was not exercising powers under
Article 226 of the Constitution suo motu but was
examining the validity of order passed by the Magistrate
refusing to grant custody of goats and sheep to the
respondent Nos. 1 to 6, in the application, which was filed G
by them under Article 226 of the Constitution. A fair
- y
reading of the petition makes it clear that no factual data
whatsoever was laid by the respondent nos. 1 to 6 for
c\aiming compensation from the appellant No.1. No facts
were mentioned as to in which manner they or any of H
668 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009) 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A them ·had suffered damage or loss because of the
handing over of custody of goats and sheep to the
-~
appellant No. 1 and ultimately to the respondent No. 8
Panjarapole nor the appellant No. 1 was permitted to
controvert that in fact no damage or loss was suffered
B by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 or any of them. There is
no manner of doubt that the High Court was too
indulgent in this matter. It is evident that the respondent
Nos. 1 to 6 were not parties to criminal inquiry case which
is pending before the Magistrate. The said inquiry was \-
c initiated at the instance of one of the aides of the
accused. In the said inquiry, the question posed for
determination of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur,
would be whether the appellant No. 1 and others with
police personnel had committed loot of trucks with goats
and sheep and also cash amourit of Rs.1, 11,000. The said
D
inquiry is still not concluded nor any finding is rendered
that the appellant No. 1 and others with the aid of police .
personnel had committed loot of the articles mentioned -+
in the complaint of that case. Therefore, the appellant No.
1 could not have been directed to pay compensation and
E cost of Rs.75,000/- to each of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6
without prejudice to their rights and contentions in the
criminal proceedings initiated by way of criminal inquiry
case. Normally, cost of maintenance and treatment of the
animals in such cases would be payable by one who
1
F claims custody or who are the owners of the live stock ...
but not by the complainant. In the instant case the
-assertion made by the appellant No. 1 is that he was
handed over custody of goats and sheep by the police
after registration of FIR whereas the case of the
G respondent Nos. 1 to 6 seems to be thatthe appellant No.
1 had taken possession of the live stock and trucks
illegally before the FIR was lodged and had acted in a ~
..,
high handed manner. The dispute whether appellant No.
1 was handed over custody of goats and sheep after
H filing of the complaint or whether he had obtained
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 669
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS.

~
custody of goats and sheep illegally before the complaint A
.J
i. was lodged, will have to be adjudicated upon evidence
to be lead by the parties. Such a highly contentious
dispute cannot and could not be resolved in a petition
under Article 226 of the Constitution. There was no
justification at all in directing the appellant No. 1 to pay a 8
sum of Rs.75,000/- towards compensation and cost to
each of the respon~ent Nos. 1 to 6 and to pay to the
-4
respondent No. 8 the cost of maintenance and treatment
of the animals in question on behalf of the respondent
Nos. 1 to 6. Therefore, this direction is also liable to be c
set aside. [Para 14) '(684-A-C; 684-E-G; 685-C-H; 686-A-E ]

3. It is true that while dealing with entitlement of
=I custody of goats and sheep the Magis~rate, Palanpur
came the conclusion that the seizure of goats and sheep
was not in accordance with law. In the order passed by D
) the Magistrate no officer was named at all. Whether
search and seizure of the goats and sheep was illegal or
not can be effectively gone into only at the stage of final
disposal of the trial and not at interim stage when the
court hears an application under Section 451 read with E
Section 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for
interim custody of the muddammal. Direction to the State
llllf' Government to initiate appropriate departmental action
I'
• for illegal or unauthorized actions at the interim stage is
harsh as well as not called for on the facts of the case. F
Therefore, the said direction, which is contained in the
impugned judgment, also deserves to be set aside. [Para
15) [686-F-G; 687-8-C]

4. Though the respondent No. 8 by filing counter
reply, pointed out that the officials of Panjarapole at Patan G
" y
were taking best care of the goats and sheep seized in
the instant case, it is found that keeping the goats and
sheep in the custody of respondent No. 8 would serve
. purpose of none. Admittedly, the respondent Nos. 1 to 6
,. H
670 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A by vocation trade in goats and sheep. Probably a period
of more that one and half years has elapsed by this time
and by production of goats and sheep seized before the
court, the prosecution cannot prove that they were
subjected to cruelty by the accused because no marks
8 of cruelty would be found by this time. The trade in which
respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are engaged, is not prohibited by
any law. On the facts and in the circumstances of the
case, respondent Nos. 1 to 6 would be entitled to interim
custody of goats and sheep seized in the case during the
C pendency of the trial, of course, subject to certain
conditions. [Para 17] [687-G-H; 688-A-C]'
Case law reference :
'
(1984) 1 sec 307 relied on Para 14
D (1991) 1 sec 441 relied on ' Para 14
CRIMINAL APPELL.ATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No. 2020 of 2009.

From the Judgment & Order dated 30.12.2008 of the High
E Court of Gujarat at Ahmadabad in Special Criminal Application
No. 1387 of 2008.

Shyam Diwan, R.K. Abhichandani, Anoop G. Chaudhary, ..
S.K. Dholakia, E.R. Kumar, Virat Popat, S. Padhi, Pallavi +
F Sharma, Ashish Vaid (for Parekh & Co.) S.R. Sundram,
Praveena Gautam, Anjali Sharma, S.A. Saud, Shakil Ahmad
Syed, Sanjay Ghosh, Anitha Shenoy, Hemantika Wahi, K.
Enaatoli Serna, Nikita, lndu Sharma for the appearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
G
J.M. PANCHAL, J. 1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal, by special leave, is directed against
judgment dated December 30, 2008, rendered by the learned
H Single Judge of High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Special
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 671
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]
Criminal Application No. 1387 of 2008 by which, while dealing A
with two prayers made by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 herein,
namely, (a) to declare that the order dated July 5, 2008, passed
by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Deesa,
refusing to hand over custody of the live stock to them is illegal
and (b) to declare that they are entitled to get custody of the 8
entire live stock, which is in illegal custody of Bharat Kothari,
i.e., appellant No. 1 herein and confined in the Panjarapole at
Kanth, near Deesa, the learned Single Judge has :-

(i) held that each of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are
guilty under Section 11 (1 )(d) of the Prevention of
c
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and punished each of
them with fine of Rs.50/-;

(ii) quashed the FIR No. 11-C.R.No. 3131 of 2008,
registered with Deesa City Police Station for the D
alleged commission of offences punishable under
Section 279 of Indian Penal Code, Section 11(1)(d)
of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
and Sections 5, 6 and 8 of Bombay Animal
Preservation Act, 1954, at the instance of the E
appellant No. 1 as well as the proceedings pursuant '!
thereto, including the orders for interim custody of
the animals and the revision applications preferred
therefrom;

(iii) F
directed the appellant No. 1 to pay, by way of
compensation and cost, to each of the respondent
Nos. 1 to 6 a sum of Rs.75,000/-, without prejudice
to their rights and contentions in the criminal
proceedings initiated by way of Criminal Inquiry
Case No. 237 of 2008 and pending before the G
learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur, as well
.. as to pay, on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 to 6 the
cost of maintenance and treatment of the animals
in question to the respondent No. 8 herein, i.e.,
H
672 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2.009) 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A Panjarapole Patan in accordance with the
provisions of sub-Section (4) of Section 35 of
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, within
a period of one month, i.e., latest by January 30,
2009;
B
(iv) directed respondent No. 8, which is entrusted care
and custody of the animals under interim order, to
hand over the surviving animals to the respondent
Nos. 1 to 6 in such proportion as the original
number of seized animals bears to the number of
c surviving animals;

(v) directed the State cf Gujarat, i.e., respondent No.
7 herein, to take appropriate departmental action
for illegal or unauthorized actions, if any, on the part
D of any police officer and if, UJlOn inquiry it prima
facie appears that any police officer has
participated in a cognizable offence, to initiate
appropriate criminal proceedings against such
officer;
E
(vi) directed the Registrar of the High Court to serve
copy of the judgment upon the appellant No. 2, i.e.,
Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Government of India, 13/
1, Third Seaward Road, Valmiki Nagar,
F Thiruvamiyr, Chennai; and

(vii) directed (a) the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 to take over
the custody and care of surviving animals within two
weeks and (b) that the Police Officer in-charge of
G the Police Station at Patan to supervise the delivery
of the animals to the respondents by the appellant
or respondent No. 8 in such manner that the
animals are not subjected to further cruelty in their
transportation within the area of his jurisdiction. The
H respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are further directed not to
,

BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 673
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

commit any offence under the Prevention of Cruelty A
to Animals Act, 1960 in respect of the surviving
animals and submit an undertaking to that effect to
the police officer in- charge of the Police Station at
Patan.
B
3. The facts emerging from the record of the case are as
under: -

~
e appellant No. 1 is an Animal Right Activist. He is also
Secre ary of Rajpur-Deesa Panjarapole, which is a public trust
and i olvetl inpreservation of old, infirm and stray cattle. One C
of the objects of the trust is to prevent illegal and unauthorized
transportation and slaughtering of animals. On June 16, 2008
he with others was present at Deesa. He received a message
that certain trucks with goats and animals had left from Badmer
to go to Ahmedabad via Deesa and Palanpur. In vieyii of this D
information he and others, i.e., Jivdaya Dharmendra Kakani,
Vijaybhai Chauhan, Bherabhai Mali and Shivrambhai Mali kept
a watch at Jalaram Cross Road since 11.00 P.M. in the night.
At about 2.00 AM. on 17.6.2008 they noticed that a line of
trucks was coming from Gayatri Temple. They waived their E
hands and search light to stop the trucks but the drivers of the
trucks did not stop the vehicles and were found driving trucks
speedily towards Palanpur. Therefore, the appellant No. 1 and
others sat in an interceptor vehicle bearing registration number
GJ-8-A-1294 and followed the trucks. The appellant No. 1 had F
his mobile phone with him and, therefore, informed the Police
Control, Palanpur that trucks loaded with goats and sheep were
coming speedily towards Palanpur, whereas he and others were
following those trucks and, therefore, necessary action should
be taken to halt the trucks at Aroma Circle Check Post. When G
the trucks reached near Aroma Circle, the drivers spotted the
police. Therefore, they stopped their vehicles and, after leaving
the trucks, ran away. On search being made, it was found that
in all there were eight trucks and in each truck, goats and
sheep were being conveyed in a congested manner. It was also
H
674 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A noticed that there was no facility of fodder, water, etc. in any of
the trucks and that the drivers had meted out cruelty to the .
animals. On making the inquiry as to who were driving the trucks,
it was found that (1) Ramjanbhai lbrahimbhai Sindhi, resident
of Nilana, Taluka Shiv, District Badmer, (2) Rojakhan Dosukhan
B Sindhi, resident of Lilasa, Taluka Shiv, District Badmer and (3)
Jamalkhan Dinakhan Sindhi, resident of Nimlatada, Taluka Shiv,
District Badmer, Rajasthan, were drivers of some of the trucks.
They were arrested and on being questioned, it was informed
by Ramjanbhai lbrahimbhai Sindhi that the others were cleaners
c the trucks. It was also learnt from Ramjanbhai lbrahimbhai
of
Sindhi that the goats and sheep loaded in the trucks were
brought from Badmer to be taken to Ranip Slaughter House,
Ahmedabad. He was called upon to produce permit for loading
the goats and sheep, but he could not produce the same. It was
further learnt that the goats and sheep were filled in the trucks
D
in an unauthorized and cruel manner. Therefore, the goats and
sheep were taken to Deesa from Palanpur in the trucks and ·~

other vehicles. One of such vehicle, i.e., mini truck No. GJ-9-Y-
5143, conveying the goats and sheep from Palanpur to Deesa,
had overturned on the side of the road as a result of which some
E animals had died. The truck, which had overturned, was left at
the place where it had overturned and other trucks weie taken
with goats and sheep to Kanth Panjarapole, Deesa. The trucks,
which were being driven from Badmer, were also taken to the
said Panjarapole. It was further found that in all there were 1974
F animals out of which 99 animals had died and that 1875 goats
•
and sheep worth Rs.400/- each were kept in the Panjarapole,
Deesa. of which the 9 appellant No. 1 is the Secretary. Under -
the circumstances the appellant No. 1 filed complaint against
Ramjanbhai lbrahimbhai Sindhi and others for alleged
G commission of offences punishable under Section 279 of Indian
Penal Code, Section 11(1)(d) of the Prevention of Cruelty to y
Animals Act, 1960 (for short the "Act") and Sections 5, 6 and 8
of Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954.
)
I
4. The record further shows that another FIR was lodged
H
~,

BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 675
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

on June 17, 2008 at 1430 hours with Palanpur Police Station A
by Govind R. Rabari, mentioning himself as an accused for the
commission of the offence punishable under Section 279 of
Indian Penal Code and stating that while he was driving mini
truck carrying the cattle from Palanpur to Deesa at the instance
of the appellant No. 1, he had lost control of the vehicle due to B
overweight of cattle as a result of which the truck had turned
on its side killing six cattle and causing damage to the said
vehicle.

5. The case of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 is that the C
appellant No. 1 and his associates are headstrong persons who
had grabbed the consignment of sheep and goats illegally by
stopping the trucks near Palanpur and forcing the trucks to be
taken to Deesa. According to the respondent Nos. 1 to 6, not
a single sheep or goat had died in any of the trucks, but large
number of them were shown to have died in the FIR with a view D
of appropriating them. The respondent Nos. 1 to 6 have
asserted that the appellant No. 1 had planned the entire
operation of looting the trucks with the active help and
connivance of local police at Deesa. Therefore, one of the
respondent Nos. 1 to 6 filed complaint against the appellant No. E
1 with Superintendent of Police at Palanpur on June 17, 2008
itself about the forcible and violent taking over of the trucks with
cattle and Rs.500/- in cash. In the complaint filed with
Superintendent of Police, Palanpur, nothing was done.
Therefore, a criminal complaint was filed in the Court of learned F
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur, which is registered as
Criminal Inquiry No. 237 of 2008 on June 18, 2008 for the
alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections
395, 427, 506(2) read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code
alleging that the persons accused therein, including the G
appellant No. 1, had, with the help of police, taken over the
trucks, beaten the drivers, looted cash of Rs.1, 11,000/- and
taken away sheep and goats worth Rs.45,48,000/-. The learned
Chief Judicial Magistrate made an order below the complaint
directing the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Palanpur, to"' H
676 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A make a report within seven days after conducting investigation
into the earlier complaint filed before him on June 17, 2008. ~

6. The respondent Nos. 1 to 6, claiming to be the owners }

of goats and sheep, filed an application under Sections 451
and 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for custody
B
of the cattle. The learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Deesa, by order dated July 5, 2008, rejected the said
application and further directed the Investigating Officer Mr.
Lakhubhai Amubhai to take possession of all goats and sheep
from Rajpur-Deesa Panjarapole and to hand over the same
c within two days to the Panjarapole of the nearest district, except
the District of Banaskantha at Government cost and thereafter
to submit a report to the Court.

7. Feeling aggrieved by the above mentioned order, the
D respondent Nos. 1 to 6 invoked extraordinary jurisdiction of the
High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, by filing
Special Criminal Application No. 1387 of 2008. It may be "1
mentioned at this stage that the State Government, through.
Police Inspector Dauljibhai Savjibhai Asari, challenged order
E of the trial court refusing to hand over custody of goats and
sheep to the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 before the learned
Additional Sessions Judge, Banaskantha at Deesa by filing of
Criminal Revision Application No. 41 of 2008.

8. The Special Criminal Application filed by the respondent
F Nos. 1 to 6 was placed for preliminary hearing before the
learned Single Judge, who after hearing the parties, by an
interim order dated October 24, 2008, directed the appellant
No. 1 to shift 1325 sheep and goats in proper manner to
Panjarapole at Patan under the supervision and in presence
G of the Investigating Officer of Deesa City Police Station before
October 31, 2008.
'¥

9. The learned Single Judge, by the impugned judgment,
has convicted the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 under Section 11(1)(d)
H of the Act and imposed fine as well as given other directions
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 677
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

referred to above giving rise to the instant appeal. A

10. This Court has heard the learned counsel for the parties
at length and in great detail. This Court has also considered
the documents forming part of the instant appeal as well as
documents forming part of the Special Criminal Application No. B
1387 of 2008, which was filed by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6
before the High Court.

11. This Court notices that the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 in
the instant appeal had filed Special Criminal Application No.
1387 of 2008 under Article 226 of the Constitution before the C
High Court stating that they were owners of the goats and sheep
seized by the police pursuant to FIR No. 11-C.R. No. 3131 of
2008, registered with Deesa City Police Station for alleged
commission of offence under Section 279 IPC, Section
11 (1 )(d) of the Act and Sections 5, 6 and 8 of Bombay Animal , D
PreseNation Act, 1954 and claimed custody of the cattle. The
names of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are as under: -
1. Dosukhan Samdakhan Sindhi, at Village
Gudamalani, District Barmer, Rajasthan
E
2. Amirkhan Sadikkhan Sindhi, at Village Ramsar,
District Barmer, Rajasthan
3. Razakkhan Noorkhan Sindhi, at Village Badau,
District Barmer, Rajasthan
4. Bherakhan Hamidkhan Sindhi, at Village Bamgol, F
District Barmer, Rajasthan
5. Sadikkhan Wagahkhan Sindhi, at Village
Jalikheda, District Barmer, Rajasthan
6. Chanesar Alakhan Sindhi, at Village Sarupekatla, G
District Barmer; Rajasthan.
It is an admitted position that 11-C.R'.-No. 3131 of 2008 is
not registered with Deesa City Police Station againstany of the
respondent Nos. 1 to 6. Admittedly, 11-C.R.No. 3131 of 2008,
H
678 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A for the alleged commission of offences punishable under
Section 279 IPC, Section 11(1) (d) of the Act and Sections 5, ~
6 and 8 of the Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954, is filed
against following persons: -
1. Rajakbhai lbrahimbhai Sindhi
B
2. Sherubhai Dosubhai Sindhi
3. Ramkha Nurkha Sindhi
4. Jamalkhan Dinakha Sindhi

c All residents of Nikia Tada, Taluka Shiv, District Barmer
(Rajas than).

This Court notices with surprise-that though the respondent
Nos. 1 to 6 herein, who were original petitioners: before the High
Court, are not accused of commission of any offence even
D remotely, even then the learned Single Judge of the High Court
has convicted them under Section 11 ( 1)(d) of the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and imposed a fine of Rs.50/
- on each of them. It hardly needs to be emphasized that those,
who are not even remotely alleged to have committed offence/
E offences, cannot be convicted at all either at the trial or while
exercising so called wide jurisdiction under Article 226 of the
Constitution. The four accused named above were not parties
to the petition filed by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 nor they had
approached the High Court for custody of goats and sheep
F seized. Therefore, conv.iction of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6
under Section 11 (1 )(d) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Act, 1960 and imposition of fine of Rs.50/- on each of them will
have to be regarded as without jurisdiction, unauthorized,
unwarranted and illegal and will have to be set aside.
G 12. From the final directions, given by the High Court in
the impugned judgment, it is evident that the learned Single
Judge has quashed the FIR registered as 11-C.R. No. 3131 of
2008 with Deesa City Policy Station and the proceedings
pursuant thereto including the orders for interim custody of the
H animals and the Revision Application preferred therefrom. The
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 679
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

respondent Nos. 1 to 6, who had filed writ petition before the A
High Court, are not accused. Therefore, they could not have
prayed for and, in fact, have not prayed to quash the FIR
registered as 11-C.R. No. 3131 of 2008 with Deesa City Police
Station and the proceedings pursuant thereto. Prayer for
quashing the FIR could have been made only by the accused, 8
who have been named above. But none of them had chosen
to invoke jurisdiction of the High Court either under Section 482
of the Code of Criminal Procedure or under Article 226 of the
i Constitution to get quashed the FIR registered as 11-C.R. No.
3131 of 2008 with Deesa City Police Station against them and C
the proceedings pursuant thereto. The quashing of FIR at the
instance of third parties is unknown to law. Further, it is well
settled that neither power under Section 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 nor jurisdiction under Article 226 of
the Constitution can be exercised by the High Court to quash
0
the complaint if prima facie commission of offences is made
out. The complaint lodged by the appellant No ..1 is on the record
of this appeal. A perusal of the same indicates that the
appellant No. 1 has averred in his complaint that close to 2000
goats and sheep were being transported in eight trucks, in a E
cramped manner, denying them even food and water in the
process. It is asserted by the appellant No. 1 in his complaint
that carrying of more than 200 animals in a truck is cruelty by
itself. The other averments made in the complaint could not
have been ignored while deciding the question whether the
complaint deserves to be quashed. The complaint has been F
quashed without taking into account the contents thereof or
discussing them. The examination of the complaint lodged by
the appellant No. 1 prima facie indicates commission of
offences mentioned therein by the accused. Even before the
investigation could be completed and report submitted to the G
competent court by the Investigating Agency, the High Court
arrived at a pre-mature conclusion that no offences under
Section 279 IPC and under Sections 5, 6 and 8 of the Bombay
Animal Preservation Act, 1954 were made out against the
accused and quashed the criminal proceedings. Such a relief H
680 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A to the accused, who had not approached the High Court for
quashing the FIR, could not have been granted in a petition filed
by the owners of goats and sheep seeking custody of the live
stock notwithstanding wide amplitude of power available under
Article 226 of the Constitution. What is astonishing is that the
B learned Single Judge has convicted the respondent Nos. 1 to
6 under Section 11 (1 )(d) of the Act, though none of them is
alleged to have committed any offence either under the Act or
under l.P.C. or under the Bombay Act of 1954 and on the other
hand quashed the complaint. The scrutiny of the judgment +
c impugned shows that the State had not filed any counter to the
petition filed by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 but the Additional
Public Prosecutor for the State had submitted before the Court
to quash the complaint filed by the appellant No. 1 if the
complaint was found by the Court to be untenable and
commission of cognizable offence was not made out The
D
Additional Public Prosecutor had requested the Court to quash
the complaint in exercise of inherent jurisdiction of a High Court
.If
under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Probably,
these submissions of Additional Public Prosecutor had
prompted the learned Single Judge to examine the question
E whether the complaint filed by the appellant No. 1 should be
quashed. The learned Single Judge has concluded in para 11
of the judgment that the offences as alleged in the FIR
registered as 11-C.R. No. 3131 of 2008 under Section 279 of
IPC and Section 11(1)(d) of the Act or Sections 5, 6 and 8 of
F the Bombay Animal Preservation Act were not made out and
also recorded another finding that excessive number of animals
were carried in the vehicles due to which they were subjected
to unnecessary pain and suffering. These findings are
contradictory to each other in terms. Having held that no offence
G under Section 11 (1 )(d) of Act was made out, why the
'
respondent Nos. 1 to 6, who are not shown as accused at all,
are convicted under Section 11 (1 )(d) of the Act, could not be 1--

explained by any of the learned counsel appearing for the
parties. Also the grievance made by the appellant No. 1 in
H ground I of the memorandum of Special Leave to Appeal that
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 681
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

by overstepping its jurisdiction and giving a go-bye to the A
j regular trial, the High Court has quashed criminal proceedings
without hearing the complainant/appellant No. 1 cannot be
ignored by this Court in view of peculiar facts of the case. The
learned Single Judge has quashed the complaint of the
appellant No. 1 contrary to the well settled principles governing B
quashing of a complaint. Quashing of the complaint in part
should not have been ordered after convicting the respondent
Nos. 1 to 6 for the offence punishable under Section 11(1)(d)
of the Act and, therefore, for all these reasons, the impugned
judgment is liable to be set aside. c
13. What is noticed by this Court is that by filing Special
Criminal Application No. 1387 of 2008, the respondent Nos. 1
to 6, who claim to be owners of the goats and sheep seized,
had prayed for the following reliefs, which are enumerated in
paragraph 8 of the petition: - D

"8. In the aforesaid facts and circumstances and the
grounds, the petitioners pray that Your Lordships will be
pleased to issue a writ of certiorari or mandamus or any
other appropriate writ, order or direction;
E
(A) declaring that the impugned order dated 5.7.2008
passed by learned Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Deesa is illegal to the extent that
learned trial court has refused to hand over custody
of the live stock to the petitioners and further be F
pleased to quash and set aside the same to that
extent;

(B) be pleased to declare that the petitioners are
entitled to get the custody of the entire live stock
which is in illegal custody of Shri Bharat Kothari -
G
respondent No. 1 herein and confined in the
Panjarapole at Kanth, near Deesa;

(C) pending admission and final disposal of this
petition, be pleased to direct the respondents to H
682 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A forthwith handover entire live stock of 1515 sheep
and goats as mentioned in the application of the
petitioners before learned Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Deesa in health and saleable condition;

(D) such other and further relief that is just, fit and ,,
B
expedient in the facts and circumstances of the
case may be granted."

A bare glance at the prayers made makes it clear beyond
pale of doubt that the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 had not prayed
c that the appellant No. 1 be directed to pay compensation and
cost to each of them. The grievance made by the appellant No.
1 in the instant appeal is that without putting the parties to notice
that the Court was inclined to determine and direct the appellant
No. 1 to pay by way of compensation and cost, the learned
0 Single Judge has determined the amount of compensation and
cost at Rs.75,000/- and directed him to pay such amount to
each of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6.

It may be mentioned that Criminal Inquiry Case No. 237
of 2008 referred to in the direction (iii), is. the sequatter of the
E complaint filed by one of the aides of the respondent Nos. 1 to
6 alleging therein that the police personnel as well as the
appellant No. 1 and other persons had robbed the accused of
goats and sheep on the trucks along with an amount of
Rs.1, 11,000/- in cash. After hearing the complainant in that
F case, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur, passed
an order on June 19, 2008 directing the complaint to be
registered in the Criminal Inquiry Register and that is how
Criminal Inquiry No. 237 of 2008 is registered in 2 the Court of
the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur. Further by the
G said order the D.S.P., Palanpur was also directed to report
within seven days before the court and submit a progress report
every seventh day till the completion of the investigation, after
which the court was to pass further orders .

. . 14. The approach of the High Court in granting relief not J
H prayed for cannot be approved by this Court. Every petition
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 683
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

under Article 226 of the Constitution must contain a relief A
) clause. Whenever the petitioner is entitled or is claiming more
;
' than one relief, he must pray for all the reliefs. Under the
provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, if the plaintiff
omits, except with the leave of the court, to sue for any particular
,,
relief which he is entitled to get, he will not afterwards be B
allowed to sue in respect of the portion so omitted or
relinquished. Though the provisions of the Code are not made
applicable to the proceedings under Article 226 of the
1- Constitution, the general principles made in the Civil Procedure
Code will apply even to writ petitions. It is, therefore, incumbent c
on the petitioner to claim all reliefs he seeks from the court.
Normally, the court will grant only those reliefs specifically
prayed by the petitioner. Though the court has very vide
discretion in granting relief, the court, however, cannot, ignoring
and keeping aside the norms and principles governing grant
D
of relief, grant a relief not even prayed for by the petitioner. In
)
Krishna Priya vs. University of Lucknow [(1984) 1 SCC 307],
...... overlooking the rule relating to grant of admission to
Postgraduate course in medical college, the High Court in the
exercise of powers under Article 226 of the Constitution
directed the Medical Council to grant provisional admission to E
the petitioner. This Court set aside the order passed by the High
Court observing that "in his own petition in the High Court, the
respondent has merely prayed for a writ directing the State or
-J the College to consider his case for admission yet the High
, Court went_ a step further and straightway issued a writ of F
mandamus directing the College to admit him to M.S. course
and thus granted relief to the respondent which he himself never
prayed for and could not have been prayed for". Again, in Om
Prakash vs. Ram Kumar ((1991) 1 SCC 441), this Court
observed, "A party cannot be granted a relief which is not G
claimed, if the circumstances of the case are such that the
granting of such relief would result in serious prejudice to the
interested party and deprive him of the valuable rights under
the statute". Though a High Court has power to mould reliefs
to meet the requirements of each case, that does not mean that H
684 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R. j
?-
)
A the draftsman of a writ petition should not apply his mind to the
proper relief which should be asked for and throw the entire
burden of it upon the court. It is relevant to notice that the High
~.
I
.
Court was not exercising powers under Article 226 of the
Constitution suo motu but was examining the validity of order
._/
.
B passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate refusing to
grant custody of goats and sheep to the respondent Nos. 1 to
6, in the Specral Criminal Application, which was filed by them
under Article 226 of the Constitution through a seasoned
lawyer. The respondent Nos. 1 to 6 were represented by a
c senior counsel practicing in the Gujarat High Court and having
regard to the facts of the case, the learned lawyer was justified
only in claiming those reliefs to which reference is made earlier.
The respondent Nos. 1 to 6 were seeking a writ of certiorari or
mandamus to declare that order dated July 5, 2009, passed
by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Deesa, refusing to
D
hand over custody of the goats and sheep seized to them, was
illegal and were also seeking quashing of the said order. At
no point of time, the learned advocate for the respondent Nos.
·~ ,..'
1 to 6 had moved any application seeking permission of the
Court to amend the prayer clause contained in the petition so
E as to enable the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 to claim compensation
from the appellant No. 1. A fair reading of the petition makes it
more than clear that no factual data whatsoever was laid by the
respondent Nos. 1 to 6 for claiming compensation from the
~·
appellant No. 1. No facts were mentioned as to in which manner
F they or any of them had suffered damage or loss because of ""
the handing over of custody of goats and sheep to the appellant
No. 1 and ultimately to the respondent No. 8 Panjarapole
situated at Patan nor the appellant No. 1 was permitted_ to
controvert that in fact no damage or loss was suffered by the
G respondent Nos. 1 to 6 or any of them. There is no manner of
doubt that the High Court was too indulgent in this matter. After
~
all, it was not a petition from a person languishing in jail or from
a bonded labourer or a party in person or public spirited citizen
seeking to bring a gross injustice to the notice of the court.
H Here, the High Court had before it the respondent Nos. 1 to 6
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 685
.SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

as petitioners. The question whether the respondent Nos. 1 to A
6 suffered damage or loss because of handing over of goats
and sheep to the appellant No. 1 and/or to the respondent No.
8, depends upon facts to be proved. Normally, such an exercise
cannot be undertaken in a writ filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution. This Court further finds that the appellant No. 1 is B
not only directed to pay, by way of compensation and cost, to
each of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 a sum of Rs. 75,000/- but is
further directed to pay on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 to 6 the
.. cost of maintenance and treatment of the animals in question
to respondent No. 8 in accordance with the provisions of sub- c
Section (4) of Section 35 of the Act. To mention the least, it is
evident that the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are not parties to
Criminal Inquiry Case No. 237 of 2008, which is pending before
the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur. As observed
earlier, the said inquiry has been initiated at the instance of one
D
of the aides of the accused. In the said inquiry the question
~
posed for determination of the learned Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Palanpur, would be whether the appellant No. 1 and
others with police personnel had committed loot of trucks with
goats and sheep and also cash amount of Rs.1, 11,000. The
said inquiry is not concluded as on today nor any finding is E
rendered that the appellant No. 1 and others with the aid .of
police personnel had committed loot of the articles mentioned
in the complaint of that case. Therefore, the appellant No. 1
... could not have been directed to pay compensation and cost
of Rs. 75,000/- to each of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 without F
prejudice to their rights and contentions in the crir!J.inal
proceedings initiated by way of Criminal Inquiry Case No. 237
. of 2008. Moreover, no claim was advanced by the respondent
No. 8 herein that the appellant No. 1 should be directed to pay,
on behalf of the owners, i.e., the respondent Nos. 1 to 6, the G
cost of maintenance and treatment of the animals in question
in accordance with the provisions of sub-Section (4) of Section
35 of the Act. Normally, cost of maintenance and treatment of
the animals in such cases would be payable by one who claims
custody or who are the owners of the live stock but not by the H
686 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009) 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A complainant. In the instant case the assertion made by the
appellant No. 1 is that he was handed over custody of goats -·
and sheep by the police after registration of FIR whereas the
case of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 seems to be that the
appellant No. 1 had taken possession of the live stpck and
8 trucks illegally before the FIR was lodged and had aqted in a
high handed manner. The dispute whether appellant No. 1 was
handed over custody of goats and sheep after filing of the
complaint or whether he had obtained custody of goats and
sheep illegally before the complaint was lodged, will have to_
c be adjudicated upon evidence to be lead by the parties. Such
a highly contentious dispute cannot and could not be resolved
in a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution. Having regard
to the totality of the facts and circumstances emerging from the
record of the case, this Court is of the firm opinion that there
was no justification at all in directing the appellant No. 1 to pay
D
a sum of Rs.75,000/- towards compensation and cost to each
of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 and to pay to the respondent No. I-

8 herein the cost of maintenance and treatment of the animals
in question on behalf of the respondent Nos. 1 to 6. Therefore,
this direction is also liable to be set aside.
E
15. This Court further finds that the learned Single Judge
has directed the State of Gujarat to take appropriate
departmental action for illegal or unauthorized actions, if any
on the part of any police officer and if upon inquiry it prima facie t-
F appears that any police officer has participated in a cognizable
offence, appropriate criminal proceedings·be initiated against
such officer. It is true that while dealing with entitlement of
custody of goats and sheep the learned Additional Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Palanpur has come to the conclusion that .
the seizure of goats and sheep was not in accordance with law.
G
During the course of hearing of the appeal, the learned counsel
for the appellant No. 1 has referred to several admissions made ).-

by the respondent Nos. 1 to 6 which would indicate that the
custody of the goats and sheep seized- was handed over to the
appellanj No. 1 by the police. However, it is not necessary to
H
BHARAT AMRATLAL KOTHARI AND ANR. v. DOSUKHAN 687
SAMADKHAN SINDHI AND ORS. [J.M. PANCHAL, J.]

make a detailed reference to them. What is important to be A
},
noticed is that in the order passed by the learned Additional
Chief Judicial Magistrate no officer has been named at all.
Whether search and seizure of the goats and sheep is illegal
or not can be effectively gone into only at the stage of final
disposal of the trial and not at interim stage when the court B
hears an application under Section 451 read with Section 457
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for interim custody
of the muddammal. Direction to the State Government to
initiate appropriate departmental action for illegal or
unauthorized actions at the interim stage is harsh as well as c
not called for on the facts of the case. Therefore, the said
direction, which is contained in clause (5) of paragraph 14 of
the impugned judgment, also deserves to be set aside.

,
16. This Court further notices that the learned Single Judge
has directed the Registrar of the High Court to serve a copy of D
the judgment impugned in the appeal upon the appellant No.
..j
2, i.e., Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Environment
and Forests, Government of India, 13/1 Third Seaward Road,
Valmiki Nagar, Thruvamiyr, Chennai. As this Court is inclined
to set aside most of the directions given by the learned Single E
-.I Judge in the impugned judgment, the direction to serve a copy
of the judgment on the appellant No. 2, i.e., Animal Welfare
Board of India becomes redundant and, therefore, the same
.. is also liable to be set aside .
... F
17. This takes the Court to answer the question whether
respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are entitled to relief of interim custody
of goats and sheep seized pursuant to filing of complaint No.
. 11-C.R. 3131 of 2008 registered with Deesa City Police Station .
" The fact that respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are owners of the goats
and sheep seized is not disputed either by the appellant No. 1 G
... or by the contesting respondents. Though the respondent No .
-t
8 has, by filing counter reply, pointed out that the officials of
Panjarapole at Patan are taking best care of the goats and
sheep seized in the instant case, this Court finds that keeping
the goats and sheep in the custody of respondent No. 8 would H
688 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A serve purpose of norie. Admittedly, the respondent Nos. 1 to 6
by vocation trade in goats and sheep. Probably a period of -\

more that one and half years has elapsed by this time and by
production of goats and sheep seized before the court, the
prosecution cannot prove that they were subjected to cruelty by
B the accused because no marks of cruelty would be found by
this time. The trade in which respondent Nos. 1 to 6 are
engaged, is not prohibited by any law. On the facts and in the .......
circumstances of the case this Court is of the opinion that
respondent Nos. 1 to 6 would be entitled to interim custody of ..j

c goats and sheep seized in the case during the pendency of the
trial, of course, subject to certain conditions.
18. For the foregoing reasons the appeal partly succeeds.
The directions Nos. 1 to 6, contained in paragraph 14 of the
impugned judgment, are hereby set aside. The Special Criminal
D Application No. 1387 of 2008 is accepted in part by directing
the respondent No. 8 to hand over custody of goats and sheep c

seized in the instant case to the respondent Nos. 1 to 6, who l:- t.
are owners thereof, in such proportion as the original number >--
of seized animals bears to the number of surviving animals, on
E each of them depositing a sum of rupees fifty thousand with the
trial court and each furnishing two sureties of Rs.50,000/- to the
satisfaction of the trial court. The respondent Nos. 1 to 6 be ;-
handed over custody of goats and sheep in the presence of
Police Officer in-charge of the Police Station at Patan, who shall
t
supervise delivery of the animals to the respondent Nos. 1 to ..,,.
F
6 in such manner that the animals are not subjected to further
cruelty in their transportation within the area of his jurisdiction.
The respondent Nos. 1 to 6-are directed to see that no cruelty
is meted out to the surviving animals and submit an undertaking f
to that effect to the trial court within a period of two weeks from
G today.
19. Subject to abovementioned directions regarding )>-

handing over interim custody of goats and sheep, the appeal
is allowed.
H D.G. Appeal partly allowed.
,.
r-...____