The court established that mere touching does not constitute criminal force under IPC Section 354, and an FIR can be quashed if found to be motivated by personal vendetta rather than legal merit.

JUDGMENT :

SANJEEV KUMAR SHARMA, J.

1. Heard Mr. Z. Kamar, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. D.P. Goswami, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State and Mrs. D. Borpujari, learned Legal Aid Counsel for respondent No. 2.

2. This petition has been filed seeking questioning of the proceedings of PRC No. 69/2024, now pending before the Court of the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Kamrup at Amingaon.

3. The prosecution story of the case is that on 03.05.2023 an online complaint received at North Guwahati P.S through the Superintendent of Police, Kamrup where it was found that on 02.05.2023 complainant Miss Anusha Vyas, D/o Mr. Himangshu Vyas of 30 Shivanta Castle, POPU Road, Gandhinagar, Gujrat sent e-mail to the DGP, Assam stating that she was working on her startup idea under Atal Innovation Mission at AIC GUSEC, Ahmedabad and she contacted Prof. Vimal Katiyar, Dean Research & Development, IIT, Guwahati as her mentor. Accordingly, she communicated him and on 18.05.2023 she came to IIT Guwahati to meet him. But he was very busy due to NERC program and so he offered to drop her to her friend's home at Panbazar by his car and will discuss on way. But, inside car, he said some weird things to her. He held her hand for several times and also watched her lines in her palm. He stopped the car in front of Kamakhya Temple and asked her to join her hands to pray Maa Kamakhya before beginning of their journey and thus he sexually harassed her. Hence the case.

4. Pursuant to the charge sheet, the learned JMFC, Kamrup, Amingaon took cognizance of the offence under Section 354 IPC in the aforesaid case.

5. Challenging the said impugned order as well as the entire proceedings, the instant petition has been preferred, whereby by Order dated 05.04.2024, further proceedings of the PRC Case No. 69/2024 pending in the Court of JMFC, Kamrup, Amingaon was stayed by this Court.

6. I have heard learned counsels for the parties.

7. Mr. Kamar, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the accused is a Professor of IIT, Guwahati in the Department of Chemical Engineering and also the Dean, Research & Development at IIT, Guwahati and is an expert in the field of cost effective biodegradable plastic.

8. The FIR of the instant case is dated 11.2.2023 and the same was registered on 05.05.2023, as North Guwahati Police Station Case No. 51/2023 under Section 354 IPC.

9. Taking the Court to the background of the case, learned Senior Counsel, with reference to the material on record submitted that the complainant had lodged an official complaint on 27.05.2022 against the petitioner upon the same allegations and after that an inquiry was instituted by way of departmental proceeding, wherein the complainant as well as the petitioner/accused were duly heard and thereafter the Inquiry Committee exonerated the petitioner of any wrongdoing. The decision of the proceeding was communicated to the complainant/victim on 24.11.2022 and thereafter, the FIR was lodged by her on 11.02.2023, that is almost two and a half months later as she failed to get a favourable outcome in the Departmental Inquiry against the petitioner. Thereafter, the victim’s statement was recorded on 13.06.2023 under Section 164 CrPC and on the same day, the charge sheet was also filed.

10. It is submitted that the FIR has been lodged by the complainant due to vindictiveness as the petitioner declined to share his knowledge or support the start-up business proposed to be initiated by the complainant.

11. It is further submitted that the complainant/victim