AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (6) TMI 1173
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....y obstructed the procession taken out from the Thrikkulam Government High School, Chemmad in connection with the school admission festival and assaulted some of the volunteers. Crime No. 625 of 2014 was registered for offences under Sections 143, 147, 353 read with 149 of the IPC and Section 35 (sic) of the Kerala Prevention of Disturbances of Public Meetings Act, 1961. Crime No. 626 of 2014 was registered for the offences under Sections 143, 147, 148, 341, 323, 324 read with 149 of IPC. All accused were convicted by the trial court on their pleading guilty of the offences. Upon conviction, the accused were sentenced to pay fine for each offence. The judgments are challenged mainly on the ground that the procedure adopted by the trial court....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ed the limited scope for interference with the judgments where the conviction is based on the admission of guilt by the accused. 5. On scrutiny of the diary extract and records received from the lower court, it is seen that the court charge in the cases was framed and read over to the accused on 09.03.2017. Thereafter, the accused were asked whether they had committed the offences and they answered in the negative. This plea of not guilty was recorded and the cases posted for prosecution evidence. After a few adjournments, the cases were taken up on 24.04.2018, on which day, the question whether the accused had committed the offences was repeated. This time the accused answered 'yes'. This answer was treated as pleading of guilt ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rocedure prescribed has to be followed strictly, since acceptance of the plea would result in an accused being convicted without trial. In this regard it is apposite to consider the legal meaning of the word "plead" which is 'to make, deliver, or file any pleading'; 'to conduct the pleadings in a cause'; 'interpose any pleading in a suit which contains allegations of fact,' 'to deliver in a formal manner the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's declaration, or to the indictment, as the case may be'. The meaning of the word 'guilty' in legal dictionaries is as follows: "Having committed a crime or tort; the word used by a prisoner in pleading to an indictment when he confesses the cri....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....he Magistrate of the requirements of Section 243 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states: "243. If the accused admits that he has committed the offence of which he is accused, his admission shall be recorded as nearly as possible in the words used by him; and, if he shows no sufficient cause why he should not be convicted, the Magistrate may convict him accordingly. It is stated by the Magistrate in his report that the particulars of the offence were explained to the appellant by the Bench Clerk Shri M. Sukumara Rao and that the plea of guilty by the appellant was interpreted to the Court by the same Bench Clerk. It is manifest from the record that the admission of the appellant has not been recorded "as nearly as poss....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....12]. In our opinion, these cases correctly lay down the law on the point." 10. In Jupudi Anand Gupta (supra), the decision in Mahant Kaushalya Das was followed and the conviction of the appellant, based on his alleged plea of guilty, which the trial court had failed to record, was set aside. The proposition laid down by the above decisions is that the plea of guilty should not only be recorded, but such recording should, to the extent possible, be in the words spoken by the accused. 11. The relevant provisions and the precedents discussed above mandate compliance of the following requirements before acting upon the pleading of guilt by an accused; (i) The Magistrate should frame the charge, specifying the offences alleged aga....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... "No doubt, there is no specific provision in the Cr.P.C. enabling the court to permit an accused to withdraw his claim to be tried and convict him on a plea of guilty subsequently. But as contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner, there is also no prohibition in the Cr.P.C. to record the plea of guilty in the course of trial and convict the accused on his subsequent admission of guilt. The object of trial is to investigate the offence and to find out the truth. When the guilt is admitted by the accused and the admission is found to be voluntary, there is no reason why the court should not allow him to withdraw his claim to be tried and plead guilty. In this connection it is relevant to note the decision of the Patna High Court....