Sanjay Das v. The State of Assam and Anr

ORDER

12.12.2024

Heard the learned senior counsel Mr. R P Sharma, assisted by Mr. N N Upadhyay, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Heard Mr. D. Das, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam. Also heard Mr. C. J. Bora, learned counsel for the informant. This is an application under section 482 of the CrPC praying for quashing the FIR dated

17.10.2027 in respect of Boko P.S. Case No. 546/2017. The informant lady was maintaining relationship with the present petitioner for a period of about 1 (one) year. The petitioner is an employee of BSF and posted in the State of Gujrat. He took the girl to Gujrat. They stayed together for some days. Then they came to Delhi where they spent some days. After that, they returned to Guwahati. They stayed in a hotel. While the girl was with the petitioner he had physical relationship with her on every occasion. The petitioner promised the girl that he would marry her. Thereafter, he stayed for some days in the house of the girl. Then, he took the girl to his house. There the girl came to know that the petitioner was already married. Now, the girl says that the petitioner cheated her. During pendency of this petition before this court, the girl filed an affidavit before this court stating that she has married some person and she is no longer interested in prosecuting the petitioner before the trial court. The learned counsel Mr. Bora, appearing for the respondent no. 2 has submitted that the girl is now having a peaceful married life and continuation of the criminal petition before the trial court would cause problems in her married life. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the both sides. The guidelines for exercising the power under section 482 of the CrPC is laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, as Page No.# 3/4 under: "102. In the backdrop of the interpretation of the various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which we have extracted and reproduced above, we give the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised.

(1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.

(2) Where the allegations in the first information report and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155(2) of the Code.

(3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and make out a case against the accused.

(4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code.

(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused.

(6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the institution Page No.# 4/4 and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party.

(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge.

¶103We 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 FIR or the complaint and that the extraordinary or inherent powers do not confer an arbitrary jurisdiction on the court to act according to its whim or caprice." Reverting to the case in hand, this court is of the opinion that allowing the criminal proceeding to continue before the trial court would be nothing but an abuse of the process of the court. This is a fit case for exercising the power under section 482 of the CrPC. Therefore, the FIR dated 17.10.2027 in respect of Boko P.S. Case No. 546/2017 is quashed and set aside. The case is disposed of.

JUDGE

Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010214932023 ooooooo undefined ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oCrl.Pet./1028/2023o SANJAYoDASo S/OoPITAMBARoDASo R/OoVILL-oPUBoKHAGRABARIo P.O.oJALAHGHATo P.S.oSIMLIo DIST.oBAKSA,oASSAMo PIN-781327 VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDoANRo REP.oBYoTHEoPP,oASSAM 2:SRIoRANUoMONIoDAS oD/OoSRIoSONESWARoDASo R/OoVILL-oBHUKRIBARIo P.O.oBAMUNIGAONo P.S.oBOKOo DIST.oKAMRUP oASSAMo PN-78114o AdvocateoforotheoPetitionerooooo:oMRoNoNoUPADHYAYA,oMRoDoBORUAH,MR.oBoBoKAKATIo AdvocateoforotheoRespondento:oPP,oASSAM,oMR.oSoSHARMAo(R2),MR.oAoKoPURKAYASTHAo(r-2)o Page No.# 2/4 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PARTHIVJYOTI SAIKIA