Hon'ble Rajendra Kumar-IV,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned AGA for the State.
The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, praying for quashing of the First Information Report, registered as Case Crime No.0241 of 2020, under Sections 3, 4, 6 of Gambling Act and Section 420 IPC, P.S. Kotwali Katra, District Mirzapur, with a further prayer to stay his arrest during pendency of investigation of the said case.
It is urged that the petitioner has been wrongly implicated on the naming of the other accused persons. No recovery has been made from the petitioner.
Having perused the allegations made in the F.I.R., according to which, three persons were found engaged in betting in IPL on their mobile phones and certain money was seized, we do not find it a fit case where the First Information Report could be quashed.
However, in relation to the grievance of the petitioner that he is being subjected to unnecessary harassment by the police and there is also threat of arrest, we may note the observations made by the Supreme Court in Jogender Kumar Vs. State of U.P., AIR 1994 SC 1349 in relation to personal liberty of a citizen and the manner in which police officer should exercise his power to arrest accused person, so that the same is duly complied with:-
"No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent for a police officer in the interest of protection of the constitutional rights of a citizen and perhaps in his own interest that no arrest should be made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness and bona fides of a complaint and a reasonable belief both as to the person's complicity and even so as to the need to effect arrest. Denying a person of his liberty is a serious matter. The recommendations of the Police Commission merely reflect the constitutional concomitants of the fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom. A person is not liable to arrest merely on the suspicion of complicity in an offence. There must be some reasonable justification in the opinion of the officer effecting the arrest that such arrest is necessary and justified. Except in heinous offences, an arrest must be avoided if a police officer issues notice to person to attend the Station House and not to leave the Station without permission would do."
Accordingly, without interfering with the impugned F.I.R., the petition is disposed of by providing that the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Jogender Kumar shall be duly observed.
(Rajendra Kumar IV, J.) (Manoj Kumar Gupta, J.) Order Date :- 2.2.2021 SL