Legal proceedings can be quashed if they are established to be maliciously instituted without sufficient evidence, causing an abuse of judicial process.

JUDGMENT :

Shampa Dutt (Paul), J.

1. The present revision has been preferred praying for quashing of the proceedings being Lake Town Police Station Case No. 80/2020 dated 08.06.2020 under Sections 323 /354/326/506/34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE now pending before the Court of the Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bidhannagar, North 24 Parganas (corresponding to G.R. Case No. 353/2020).

2. The petitioner’s case is that the petitioner herein is a supporter of the ideologies of a particular political party and is presently holding the post of Secretary of the aforesaid political party.

3. The petitioner states that the pristine image of the petitioner herein is being thoroughly tarnished and demolished at the behest of Police Administration in connivance with the ruling party of the State of West Bengal, ever since the petitioner has joined the rival political faction. The petitioner has been unnecessarily embroiled in connection with the instant false and malicious case, allegations of which are purely a figment of imagination of the opposite party no. 2.

4. On 08.06.2020 when the petitioner along with his two party workers and accompanying security personnel were going to meet, one Dhrubanil Biswas at 181/34, Arihant Apartment, Dakshindari, they found that a mob had blocked the road and were raising slogans against him to go back from the locality. He tried to go ahead peacefully but the mob attacked and damaged his car and also manhandled his security personnel.

5. Being shocked and dismayed by the aforesaid acts of the unruly mob, the petitioner herein also lodged a written complaint dated 08.06.2020 with the Inspector-in-Charge of the Lake Town Police Station, inter alia stating the said events which unfolded on the said date. On the basis of the said complaint lodged by the petitioner herein, Lake Town Police Station Case No. 81/2020 dated 08.06.2020 under Sections 34 1/323/325/506/427/34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE was registered for investigation.

6. The petitioner was absolutely mystified on obtaining the knowledge that prior to the complaint of the petitioner herein, the investigating agency had registered a case being Lake Town Police Station Case No. 80/2020 dated 08.06.2020 under Sections 323 /354/326/506/34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE (that is the instant case), on the basis of a complaint lodged by the opposite party no. 2. The allegations leveled in the said complaint are to the effect that:-

“It was alleged that the opposite party no. 2 along with other ladies were distributing masks opposite Rohit Apartment, Dakshindhari. When the petitioner along with one Piyush Kanoria and others allegedly started provoking them without any rhyme or reason and allegedly attacked them and outraged their modesty.”

7. Mr. Rajdeep Majumder, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the impugned proceedings clearly smack of malice and has been instituted only to harass and humiliate the petitioner. The impugned proceeding is wholly vexatious and is a mala fide attempt on part of a malicious persecutor to abuse the process of law. Such malicious proceedings should be quashed at the very thresh-hold as continuation of the same beyond the stage it has already reached would tantamount to severe prejudice for the petitioner.

8. That the allegations when taken in their entirety do not disclose the commission of any of the alleged offences by the petitioner at all. Mere bald allegations cannot constitute an offence and as such the proceedings against the petitioner is liable to be quashed.

9. Mr. Swapan Banerjee, learned counsel for the St