Page No.# 1/6 GAHC010177572026 2026:GAU-AS:12212 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Crl.Pet./1171/2026 SAFINA BEGUM W/O ABDUL KADIR, R/O VILL MADHYAM SAMARALI, PS MURAJHAR, DIST HOJAI, ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS. TO BE REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, ASSAM 2:AJIJUR RAHMAN S/O ABDUL NUR R/O VILL PACHIM SAMARALI PS MURAJHAR DIST HOJAI ASSAM 3:AFSANA BEGUM W/O AJIJUR RAHMAN R/O VILL PACHIM SAMARALI PS MURAJHAR DIST HOJAI ASSAM 4:ABDUR RAHMAN ALIAS IBADUR RAHMAN S/O AJIJUR RAHMAN R/O VILL PACHIM SAMARALI PS MURAJHAR DIST HOJAI ASSA Advocate for the Petitioner : MR SARFRAZ NAWAZ, MR. RITUPAM MALI,MD A RAHMAN,A MISHRA,MR. SURAJIT DAS,MR. A TARAFDAR Page No.# 2/6 Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, BEFORE HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE SHAMIMA JAHAN ORDER 25.08.2026 Heard Mr S Nawaz, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr K Baishya, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State of Assam. 2. By this application filed under Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023, the petitioner has prayed for quashing of the orders dated 10.11.2022 and 22.07.2026, passed by the learned JMFC, Sankardevnagar, Hojai, in PRC Case No. 1577/2022. By the said orders, the learned Court of JMFC had rejected the prayer of the petitioner for further investigation of the case. 3. It is the case of the petitioner that he lodged an FIR on 22.08.2022, stating inter alia, that a group of persons comprising 8 to 10 people abused the petitioner along with others with extremely bad language and threatened to kill them. It is also stated that the accused persons had beaten up the related persons of the informant/petitioner and that three of the relatives of the petitioner sustained injuries, caused by machete dealt by the accused person. On receipt of the ejahar, the Police registered the case as Murajhar PS Case No. 203 of 2022, under Section 147/148/149/448/326/294 of the IPC. 4. It is the further case of the petitioner that Police, during investigation, had not Page No.# 3/6 recorded the statement of the injured witnesses. The Police had only considered the medical report of the said injured persons, who were taken for their treatment after the occurrence. Without recording the statements of the injured witnesses, the Police after completion of the investigation submitted charge sheet on 29.09.2022. In the said charge sheet, the injured witnesses from the informant’s side were also not cited as witnesses. 5. Being aggrieved by not including the injured persons as witnesses and by not recording the statements of the witnesses, the petitioner/informant had filed an application before the Court of learned SDJM, Hojai, Sankardev Nagar, for a direction to direct further investigation by the Police and the learned JMFC, vide order dated 10.11.2022, had rejected the prayer for further investigation on the ground that the said prayer of further investigation can be allowed only up to the pre-trial stage. The learned Court while passing the said order had relied on a Judgment of the Supreme Court in Amrutbhai Shambhubhai Patel-vs. Sumanbhai Kantibhai Patel; reported in (2017) 4 SCC 177. It is also held by the Court that an application by the informant for further investigation cannot be considered at that stage. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Court had referred to and relied upon a decision which is over ruled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the subsequent decision in Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya & Others vs. State of Gujarat & Another; reported in (2019) 17 SCC 1. 6. Unable to get relief from the said Court, the informant/petitioner had again filed an application for further investigation into the said case and the learned Court, by order Page No.# 4/6 dated 22.07.2026, had rejected the said prayer on the ground that the prayer had already been rejected in the earlier proceedings and that allowing any order at that particular stage would be like reviewing his own order dated 10.11.2022. On that ground, the prayer for further investigation was again rejected. 7. The learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr Nawaz submits that the petitioner is aggrieved by non-inclusion of the injured persons as witnesses in the charge sheet. He specifically submits that only on the basis of the medical report, which is in the nature of an opinion, substantial justice would not be done with regard to the case, unless the injured persons are examined by the Trial Court, not only during the trial, but their statements are also required to be considered during framing of charge. He submits that it is a settled position of law that till the trial starts which is from the stage of framing of charge, further investigation can always be allowed by the Magistrate concerned or by the Court. In the instant case, he submits that the trial has not started, as the case is in the appearance stage. He further submits that the case is fixed for consideration of charge on 24.09.2026 and once the charges are framed, there would be no scope for further investigation. 8. On the other hand, Mr K Baishya, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State submits that the petitioner can avail other recourse like making an application for calling the injured persons as witnesses during the trial, more specifically by making an application under Section 311 of the IPC. He, however, submits that it was a fault on the Page No.# 5/6 part of the Investigating Officer, not to record their statements and array the injured persons as witnesses in the case, as they are the best witnesses to depose in the case instituted. 9. I have heard the learned counsels for the parties and I have gone through the records. 10. It is specifically stated by the informant/petitioner in the FIR that three of his people were injured and that they suffered grievous injuries caused by the accused persons by hitting them with a machete. It is also seen in the record that the said injured persons were taken for treatment to the hospital and that medical repot of the said persons were, in fact, collected by the Police and were mentioned in the said charge sheet. However, it is seen that the Investigating Officer had not recorded the statements of the injured witnesses and also while submitting the charge sheet, the Investigating Officer had not arrayed the injured persons as witnesses. It is a settled position of law that injured witnesses are like eye-witnesses and their evidence gets precedence over other evidences on record. It is, as such, required that the statements of injured witnesses be taken and considered by the Court of law in respect of the present case. Further, it is also seen that the learned Court of JMFC, Hojai, while rejecting the application of the informant had relied on Amrutbhai Shambhubhai Patel (supra) and the said Judgment is overruled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the subsequent Judgment, i.e., Amrutbhai Shambhubhai Patel (supra), and in the said Judgment, it is stated that the order for Page No.# 6/6 further investigation can be given till the trial starts. In the instant case, since there are persons injured during the occurrence, it is imperative upon the Police to record their statements and forward it the Court under Section 173 of the CrPC. The statements of the injured witnesses would play an important role during the trial of the case. It can either go in favour of the petitioner/informant or the prosecution case or in favour of the accused persons. So, the injured person’s statements recorded under Section 161 of CrPC by Police, are required in proper adjudication of the case. As such, this Court deems it fit to remand the matter back to the Court of learned JMFC, Hojai, Sankardevnagar, who would re-consider on an application filed afresh by the informant for further investigation. The Court is further directed to consider the said application in view of the prevailing law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Furthermore, the learned Court is directed to consider the application, if filed, without any delay, i.e., before the stage of charge framing. 11. As such, this application is closed and disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant