JUDGMENT :

Bharat P. Deshpande, J.

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard, finally by consent of parties.

2. Present application is filed seeking for quashing of FIR vide Crime No. 120/2019 dated 07.07.2019 registered at Deoni Police Station, Taluka Deoni, District Latur and consequent charge-sheet filed bearing Final Report No.14/2020 (Regular Criminal Case No.16/2020) pending before the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Deoni.

3. Applicant is a lawyer, practicing at Sessions Court, Udgir. The Informant, who is teaching in a College, lodged a complaint at Deoni Police Station dated 07.07.2019 vide Crime No. 120/2019 for the offences punishable under Sections 353, 323, 504, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

4. In nutshell, it is claimed by the Informant that on 03.07.2019, he was proceedings towards the classroom at around 2:15 pm. for holding a period of 12th standard, he was wrongfully restrained by the Applicant and others, questioned as to why the Applicant is obstructing giving information under the Right to Information Act (RTI for short). It is alleged that the Applicant threatened the Informant with dire consequences and had a scuffle with him and obstructed him from performing his duty as a ‘public servant’.

5. The Informant appeared and filed his affidavit-in-reply refuting allegations made in the application. He claimed that he was restrained by the present Applicant from discharging his public duty and threatened with dire consequences as well as caused injury, and hence he immediately lodged FIR with the concerned Police Station on 03.07.2019. However since Applicant is practicing Advocate, Police did not register a crime immediately. The crime was registered against the Applicant only on 07.07.2019 and then investigation proceeded, which culminated in filing of the charge-sheet.

6. Learned Senior Counsel Shri. Deshmukh appearing for the Applicant, strenuously urged that complaint filed against the Applicant, is false, fabricated and with malice as the nephew of Informant is married to the younger sister of the Applicant in the year 2017 and after period of two months from their marriage, there were allegations about cruelty, ill-treatment, harassment by the in-laws, due to which, younger sister of the Applicant started residing with her parents.

7. Learned Senior Counsel then urged that ingredients of Section 353 of IPC are not at all made out in the present matter and said provision has been pressed into operation only with an intention to put the Applicant behind bar and to defame him in a false and malicious prosecution, due to the dispute between the younger sister of Applicant and nephew of the Informant. Applicant filed various applications under RTI, calling for the information which is the reason for filing false complaint against him by Informant. Learned Senior Counsel then submitted that except Section 353 of IPC, other Sections of IPC such as Sections 323, 504, 506 of IPC are all non-cognizable offences and therefore, there was no question of registering FIR against the Applicant and to conduct investigation, if any.

8. Learned Senior Counsel then pointed out that belated complaint has been lodged by Informant only to counter the complaint filed by the Applicant before the concerned Police Station and instead of registering complaint of Applicant, Police machinery registered a complaint of Informant and started investigation. He then submitted that the Applicant was forced to approach the learned Magistrate by filing Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 68/2019 under Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C. Only after the order passed by the learned Magistrate dated 20.09.2019, FIR No. 173/2019 came to be registered at Deoni Police Station against Informant for the offences punishable under Sections 307, 324, 325, 323, 341, 504 and 506 of IPC.

9. The learned Senior Counsel Mr. Deshmukh then invited attention of this Court to the complaint lodged by the Applicant dated 03.07.2019 with the concerned Police S