IMPORTANT POINT
In the exercise of the extra-ordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, following categories of cases are given 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 guide myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised

JUDGMENT :

1. RULE. Service of notice of rule was waived on behalf of the respective respondents. With the consent of learned advocates on both the sides, all the matters were heard together and are disposed of by this common judgment.

2. These petitions have been preferred under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as “the CrPC”) seeking quashment of (i) the FIR No.11206020201756 of 2020 registered with Kadi Police Station on 24.05.2020 for offences punishable under sections 409, 431, 201, 120B and 34 of IPC and sections 65(e), 81, 83 and 116-B of the Gujarat Prohibition Act and (ii) the subsequent FIR No.1120602020769 of 2020 registered with the same police station on 31.05.2020 for offences punishable under sections 409, 420, 120B and 34 of IPC and sections 66(1)(e), 83 and 116-B of the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

2.1 In the FIR registered on 24.05.2020 (which shall hereinafter be referred to as the “first FIR”), nine police personnel have been named as accused persons. Out of the nine accused persons, the following accused have challenged the first FIR by filing applications as under;

(A) Criminal Misc. Application No.7754 of 2020 - By original accused No.4,7 and 8.

(B) Criminal Misc. Application No.8473 of 2020 - By original accused No.5.

(C) Criminal Misc. Application No.8512 of 2020 - By original accused No.2.

(D) Special Criminal Application No.2511 of 2020 - By original accused No.6.

(E) Special Criminal Application No.3049 of 2020 - By original accused No.3.

2.2 In the subsequent FIR registered on 31.05.2020 (which shall hereinafter be referred to as the “second FIR”), two police personnel have been named as accused persons, who are also original accused No.1 and 2 in the earlier FIR registered on 24.05.2020. Both the accused persons have preferred the following matters challenging the second FIR;

(A) Criminal Misc. Application No.2772 of 2020 – By original accused No.1.

(B) Criminal Misc. Application No.8696 of 2020 – By original accused No.2.

3. The facts, in a nutshell, are as under;

On 20.05.2020, the Office of the Commissioner of Police received an information that in a room being Room No.62 in the Police Staff Quarters situated behind Kadi Police Station, a stock of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) has been allegedly kept in connivance with the accused persons named in the first complaint. Under the fear that the prohibited liquor would be tracked down, the stock of prohibited liquor was allegedly shifted to different vehicles, including the private vehicles which were requisitioned for use during lockdown period and were thereafter, transported to Narmada Canal passing through Sujatpura Village in Kadi and were destroyed by dumping it into the canal. The empty boxes were disposed of in the nearby bushes. In order to ascertain the veracity of the information, a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted on 21.05.2020 to carry out a preliminary inquiry. The SIT carried out necessary inquiry and also recorded statements of several witnesses. On 22.05.2020 the empty boxes of prohibited liquor, which were disposed of in the bushes, were seized by way of a panchnama. On 23.05.2020 a team of swimmers from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) dived into the canal to collect details regarding the bottles of prohibited liquor which were disposed of into the canal. At the end of the day, the divers found 78 bottles of prohibited liquor in sealed condition, which were duly seized by way of a panchnama. On 24.05.2020 the team of NDRF divers again entered the canal waters. Around 54 sealed bottles containing prohibited liquor were recovered, which were duly seized by way of a panchnama. Both the room in which the muddamal liquor was stocked as also the vehicles in which they were transported were sealed.

3.1 The SIT also found that the prohibited liquor which was kept at the police station as ‘muddamal’ was, in fact, kept as such illegally by the accused persons and was to be disposed of on 20.0