Section 319 CrPC summons upheld where FIR and testimony gave strong, cogent evidence against the named accused.

Under Section 319 CrPC, a person may be summoned as an additional accused only on strong and cogent evidence, not a mere prima facie case. The FIR named the petitioners, and the complainant's testimony before the court specifically attributed the assault to them. On that record, the HC held that direct allegations existed to justify summoning them as additional accused, and the challenge to the summoning order failed.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were rightly summoned as additional accused under Section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The petition challenged the order summoning the petitioners as additional accused. The governing standard under Section 319 is that a person may be added as an accused on the basis of strong and cogent evidence, which must be more than a mere prima facie case. The FIR specifically named the petitioners, and the complainant's testimony before the court also attributed the assault to them. The record therefore contained direct allegations against the petitioners sufficient to justify invocation of Section 319.

Conclusion: The petitioners were rightly summoned as additional accused, and the challenge to the summoning order failed.

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