JUDGMENT R.C. Deepak and R.N. Misra, JJ.
1. Heard Sri Satish Trivedi, learned senior advocate with the assistance of Sri Jagdish Singh Sengar, Sri V.P. Srivastava and Sri Sikandar B. Kochar, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Sri Ravi Kiran Jain, Sri Umesh Narain Sharma, learned senior advocates assisted by Sri Chandan Sharma, learned Counsel for the informant, Sri Mevalal Shukla, learned additional government advocate for the State and perused the record.
2. By means of the present writ petition the petitioner J.K. Agrawal has challenged the validity of the impugned first information report registered as Case Crime No. 37 of 2006 under Sections 302/120B IPC at police station Ghoorpur, district Allahabad. The first information report relates to the commission of the murder of Amrendra Kumar Pandey, Chairman of Mazdoor Union, Triveni Sheet Glass Works Limited, Iradatganj, Ghoorpur, Allahabad. The petitioner is the owner / Managing Director, co-accused K.K. Gupta, Chief Security Officer and C.P. Yadav, Deputy General Manager of the said Factory. They arc figured as accused in the first information report with an allegation of hatching conspiracy in committing the said murder.
3. Learned Counsel for the petitioner has vehemently argued that a perusal of the impugned first information report would indicate that there is no evidence or circumstance indicating that the petitioner hatched alleged conspiracy for committing the offence. The petitioner is ready to cooperate with the investigation and his arrest in the alleged circumstances is not necessary during the course of investigation into the case. He has also relied upon the observations made by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the following cases :
1. State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal Reported in S.C.C. 1992 Supplementary Volume 1, Page 335
2. Yogendra Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors. Reported in S.C.C. 1994, Volume VI, Page 1260
4. On the other hand, learned Counsel for the respondents forcefully contradicting the arguments of the learned Counsel for the petitioner has emphatically argued that the first information report is full of senses indicating a reasonable circumstance to show the complicity of the petitioner hatching conspiracy for the murder of the labour leader as the dispute with regard to the payment of wages to the workers existed and talks were going on between the Management and the Union. His further contention is that the co-accused C.P. Yadav, similarly situated under the same facts and circumstances as well as K.K. Gupta have already been arrested by the Investigating Agency.
5. We have gone through the arguments of the learned Counsel for the parties, that the contents of the first information report and the prevailing circumstances. The deceased was a Chairman of Trade Union of the Factory. The petitioner is the owner / Managing Director of the said Factory, that earlier to the alleged murder, 376 labourers of the Factory had been retrenched and in this regard a labour movement under the leadership of the deceased was launched and it continued for a period of one year, as a result of which the workmen had been taken back on duty, but the dispute relating to the payment of their salaries / wages was still under consideration and talks were going on and in this regard the Union had submitted new demand later on 22.3.2006. It is alleged that the deceased was warned by the petitioner and the co-accused C.P. Yadav to face dire consequences in case he pressed the demand later. It is further alleged that on 20.3.2006 an attempt to assault the deceased was made and the name of the petitioner was also disclosed by the assailants.
6. The informant, being the worker of the Factory, has given such facts in the first information report. The relevant portion of the same is reproduced as under :
Dinank 20.3.2006 ko jab Up-Shramayukt ke yahan varta thi usi din subah 5:00 baje jab Amrendra Kumar Pandey tahalne ke liye nikla to 2 - 3 log uske uper hamla karna chahe lekin shorgul hone per yeh kahte huye bhaag gave ki saale J.K. Agrawal se ladne ki koshish na kare nahin to maar diye jaoge....
"Aaj suhuh bhi J.K. Agrawal aur C.P. Yadav chamber mein bulaakar maangpatra na dene ke liye dhamkaya aur kaha tha ki ab cigar maangpatra per koi dabav dala to uska anjaam bhugatoge. Union ne 22.3.2006 ko he naya maangpatra diya tha. Aaj J.K. Agrawal aur C.P. Yadav 11:00 baje say he mere bhatejay ko dhamkane ke baad factory band kar chale gaye the. Amrendra Kumar Pandey ki hatya J.K. Agrawal aur uske management ke log factory mein theke mazdooron ko lagane wale thekedaar ke sahyog se ki gaye hai.
7. Whatever the legal character of these allegations may be, that to record any finding in this regard is not required at this stage particularly in the present writ petition. Since the complicity of the actual shooter / shooters has not been disclosed in the first information report, the investigation into the case is going on, it may be fair and proper to put up the Investigating Agency at the liberty to investigate the matter freely and properly without any interference therein. No interference in this regard is required in such sensational murder, specially when the arrest of the co-accused C.P. Yadav similarly situated under the same facts and circumstances of the case and that too of K.K. Gupta has already been effected.
8. Taking into account the above facts and circumstances of the case, but without expressing any opinion on the merit thereof, but with due regard to the observations of the cases referred-to-above, we are of the view that no interference in the impugned first information report is warranted.
9. Consequently, the writ petition deserves to be dismissed in toto at the very initial stage.
10. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed.