The present Application has been filed by the Applicant under Articles 14, 21 and 226 of the Constitution of India as well as under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the prayer that the matter arising out FIR being I-CR No. 33 of 2004 registered with Gadhada Police Station, Bhavnagar may be investigated impartially by the higher authority not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and has further prayed that appropriate direction may be issued for extradition of Respondent No.2, who is believed to have absconded to a foreign country.
As it transpired from the record, particularly, the order passed earlier by this Court (Coram: M.R.Shah,J) in Criminal Misc. Application No. 2959 of 2004 dated 8.11.2011, the reference is made to the same incident with regard to the wheat stolen from the same place. There is a reference to the civil litigation also. Therefore, relying on this order, the Applicant, who is representing the other side, has sought the prayer that the High Court should intervene at the stage of investigation and pass an order with regard to the manner of the investigation and / or extradition, which is a separate and independent issue, which this Court is not required to deal with.
It is well accepted that exercise of power under Section 482 of Cr.PC is limited and the inherent powers have to be exercised with more care and circumspection. The Hon'ble Apex Court has laid down the guidelines in catena of judicial pronouncements including the judgment in case of Divine Retreat Centre v. State of Kerala & Ors., AIR 2008 SC 1614 wherein it has been observed that the circumstances under which the inherent jurisdiction may be exercised. The Hon'ble Apex Court in a judgment in case of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, AIR 1992 SC 604 has also laid down the guidelines. Therefore, the prayer with regard to expediting the investigation or direction for extradition of Respondent No.2 cannot be considered in this proceeding without any justification, much less without any proper material on record before this Court. The Hon'ble Apex Court has also made it clear that the investigation is a field exclusively reserved for the investigating agency and directions cannot be issued lightly. Further, for extradition also, the procedure as required under law has to be followed.
Moreover, it is not in dispute that pursuant to the order passed in Criminal Misc. Application No. 2959 of 2004, the High Court has declined to quash the FIR with the same allegations or the incident. In other words, the High Court had permitted the matter to be investigated, which can be taken to a logical conclusion. The Applicant, who is representing the other group, cannot seek any such direction for the manner of investigation or extradition of Respondent No.2 in exercise of inherent powers under Section 482 of Cr.PC or even under Article 226 / 227 of the Constitution of India.
With regard to the the dispute regarding the land or the possession, admittedly, the interim orders were passed by the trial Court, and thereafter, the Civil Appeal has been preferred and interim relief has been granted, which conveniently is not placed on record. Had these details been placed on record, it would have revealed.
Therefore, the present Application cannot be entertained and deserves to be dismissed and accordingly stands dismissed in limine.
(Rajesh H. Shukla,J) Jayanti* Top