Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:16795 Court No. - 12 Case :- CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 845 of 2025 Appellant :- Bhoopal Krishna Dwivedi @ Bhopal Krishna And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy./ Prin. Secy. Deptt. Of Home Lko. And Another Counsel for Appellant :- Vikas Chaturvedi,Saloni Nishad Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Alok Mathur,J. 1. Heard Ms. Saloni Nishad, learned counsel for the appellants as well as learned A.G.A. on behalf of the State. 2. Present appeal under Section 14 A (1) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been preferred assailing the order dated 27.2.2023 passed by Special Judge, S.C./S.T (P.A.) Act, Ambedkar Nagar in complaint case No.137/2020 whereby the appellants have been summoned under Sections 323, 504, 506 IPC and 3 (1) X of S.C./S.T (P.A.) Act. 3. It has been submitted on behalf of the appellants that the private respondent had filed an application under Section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. stating that on 22.10.2020 at around 5.30 P.M. when the complainant along with his brother and mother were working in the fields a stray cattle had entered into his field which was expelled by them. During the aforesaid act, the accused who were working in near fields rushed towards the complainant and started abusing and assaulting them with lathi and danda. The brother and mother who came to rescue the complainant were also assaulted and the agricultural equipment Hansia was also snatched during the said fact due to which the thumb of the complainant was also severely injured. Number of persons on hearing the commotion came to their rescue. Accordingly, first information report was sought to be duly registered and when no action was taken then application under Section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. was moved before the trial court. 4. During the said proceedings statement of the complainant was recorded under Section 200 and of the other witnesses under Section 202 Cr.P.C. including Dhiresh Kumar and Viresh Kumar who completely supported the case of the prosecution. After perusal of the aforesaid material the trial court treated the case to be a compliant case and issued summons to the appellants. 5. Learned counsel for the appellants has submitted that entire facts are false and the proceedings have been initiated in a malafide manner. 6. In this regard, it is noticed that the trial court has duly considered the entire material which is on record including the statements recorded under Sections 200 and 202 Cr.P.C.. It is further noticed that at this stage the version of the accused/appellants cannot be considered as this Court finds that there were sufficient material to issue summons. 7. In the considered opinion of this Court, the Magistrate at this stage has been given undoubted wide discretion in the matter which is to be judicially exercised by and once the Magistrate has exercised his discretion in a judicious way it is not justified even for the High Court to substitute its own discretion for that of the Magistrate or to indulge itself into the exercise of examining the case on merits. In this regard following observations have been made by Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa Konjalgi and others, reported in (1976) 3 Supreme Court Cases 736 which is as under:- "The Magistrate has been given an undoubted discretion in the matter and the discretion has to be judicially exercised by him. Once the Magistrate has exercise his discretion it is not for the High Court, or even this Court, to substitute its own discretion for. that of the Magistrate or to examine the case on merits with view to find out whether or not the allegations in the complaint, if proved, would ultimately end in conviction of the accused. These considerations, in our opinion, are totally foreign to the scope and ambit of an inquiry under s. 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which culminates into an order under s. 204 of the Code." 8. Accordingly, this Court finds no ground to interfere in the said matter and the defence of the appellants, if any, can be considered by the court concerned at appropriate stage. The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. (Alok Mathur, J.) Order Date :- 24.3.2025 RKM. Digitally signed by :- RAKESH KUMAR MAURYA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench