Maskalwar Shivaji v. Saidapur Ramesh

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE T.SUNIL CHOWDARY CRIMINAL PETITION No.4975 OF 2017 ORDER:

This petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C to quash the proceedings against the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 4 in Cr.No.85 of 2017 on the file of Station House Officer, Madnoor Police Station, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 384 and 341 of IPC.

The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the first respondent foisted a false case against the petitioners who are press reporters. He further submitted that the allegations made in the complaint do not constitute any offence much less the offences alleged to have been committed by the petitioners. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor representing the State of Telangana submitted that the allegations made in the complaint prima facie constitute the offences alleged to have been committed by the petitioners.

A perusal of the record reveals that the petitioners are accused Nos.1 to 4 and the first respondent is the de-facto complainant. As per the allegations made in the complaint, on 17.6.2017 when the first respondent is supplying milk to Anganwadi centres, the petitioners demanded an amount of Rs.40,000/- from the first respondent, otherwise, they will publish in the newspapers that he is selling milk to outsiders. The gist of the allegations made in the complaint is that the petitioners illegally demanded money from the first respondent.

While disposing of the petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C, the Court has to take into consideration the allegations made in the complaint. The Court is not justified in embarking upon an enquiry to ascertain the truthfulness or otherwise of the allegations made in the complaint. Whether the petitioners have committed the alleged offences or not will come to light during the course of investigation only. The very purpose of investigation is to ascertain the truthfulness or otherwise of the allegations made in the complaint. The allegations made in the complaint are prima facie sufficient to investigate into the matter. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case on hand and also the principle laid down in R.P.Kapoor v. State of Punjab1, State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal2, V.Y.Jose v State of Gurajat3 and Teeja Devi v State of Rajasthan4, I am of the considered view that this is not a fit case to quash the proceedings at this stage.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and also the principle enunciated by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar5, the Station House Officer, Madnoor Police Station is hereby directed to follow the procedure as contemplated under Section 41A Cr.P.C., in Cr.No.85 of 2017 so far as the petitioners who are accused Nos.1 to 4 are concerned. 1 AIR 1960 SC 866 2 AIR 1992 SC 604 3 (2009) 3 SCC 78 4 2015 (1) ACR 564 (SC) 5 (2014) 8 SCC 273

With the above direction, the Criminal Petition is disposed of. Consequently, Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed.

_________________________ T. SUNIL CHOWDARY, J Date: 29th June, 2017 Kvsn