Court No. - 46
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 1629 of 2019 Petitioner :- Nitin Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Pradeep Kumar Singh,Jitendra Pal Singh Counsel for Respondent :- G.A.
Hon'ble Naheed Ara Moonis,J. Hon'ble Virendra Kumar Srivastava,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned A.G.A. for the State.
By means of the present writ petition, the petitioner has invoked extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court with a prayer to quash the FIR dated 2.12.2018 registered as Case Crime No. 354 of 2018, under Section 2/3 of U.P. Gangster & Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, P.S. Adarsh Mandi, District Shamli.
It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner is being harassed unnecessarily at the dint of the first information report dated 2.12.2018, lodged by the respondent no. 3. According to the gang chart, two cases have been shown against the petitioner. The petitioner has already been granted bail in Case Crime No. 201 of 2018 under sections 392, 411 IPC by this Court on 13.8.2018 by means of Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 30497 of 2018 (Nitin Vs. State of U.P. and others). The respondent authorities did not digest the bail given to the petitioner by the Hon'ble Court and explored a new trail of harassing and persecuting the petitioner by lodging the present first information report dated 2.12.2018 under the Gangsters Act on the basis of cases vide Crime No. 201 of 2018 under section 392, 411 IPC and Case Crime No. 219 of 2018 u/s 25 Arms Act. The impugned FIR dated 2.12.2018 being sheer abuse of process of law deserves to be quashed.
Per contra learned AGA contended that the contents of the first information report cannot be stifled at the very inception.There is sufficient material showing the complicity of the petitioner in the anti-social activities. The petitioner is involved in an organized crime hence the petitioner cannot be absolve from the criminal act.
Regard being hand to the entire facts and circumstances of the case, it is relevant to take reference of Full Bench of this Court in Ajit Singh @ Muraha versus State of U.P. (2006 (56) ACC 433) reiterating the view taken by the earlier Full Bench in Satya Pal versus State of U.P. (2000 Cr.L.J. 569) after considering the catena of decisions rendered in State of Haryana Versus Bhajan Lal (AIR 1992 SC 604) that there can be no interference with the investigation or order staying arrest unless cognizable offence is not ex.facie discernible from the allegations contained in the FIR or there is any statutory restriction operating on the power of the Police to investigate a case.
The Apex Court has, however, given a note of caution to the effect that the power of quashing a criminal proceeding should be exercised very sparingly and in the rarest of rare cases. We also give a note of caution to the effect that the power of quashing a criminal proceeding should be exercised very sparingly and with circumspection and that too in the rarest of rare cases; that the Court will not be justified in embarking upon an enquiry as to the reliability or genuineness or otherwise of the allegations made in the F. I. R. that the extraordinary powers do not confer any arbitrary jurisdiction on the Court to act accordingly to its whim or caprice.The invocation of section 2/3 Gangsters Act is different from normal criminality. The accused is also involved in an organized crime for a different purpose and motive. The writ court is not competent to go into disputed question of facts and on the allegations at this stage. It is always open to the petitioner to appear before the court concerned and raise his plea.
From the bald perusal of the FIR, it cannot be said that no prima facie case is disclosed against the petitioner hence there is no justifiable ground to quash the FIR or staying the arrest of the petitioner.
In the result the writ petition sans merits and is accordingly dismissed.
However, it is provided that if the petitioner appears/surrenders before the court concerned within three weeks from today, his prayer for bail shall be considered in accordance with the provisions of Gangsters Act Order Date :- 22.1.2019 Vandana