The police officer is bound to register the FIR upon receiving any information relating to commission of cognizable offence under section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation. However, in certain eventualities, a police officer can make preliminary inquiry, examples of which are provided in the judgment of Lalita Kumari v. Government of U.P. & Ors. AIR 2014 SC 187.

Vijay Bishnoi, J.

This criminal misc. petition under section 482 Cr.P.C., 1973has been filed by the petitioner with a prayer for quashing the FIR No. 156/2015 lodged on 01.11.2015 at Women Police Station, Udaipur for the offences punishable under sections 498A, 406, 384, 420 and 120-B IPC.

2. The main ground raised in this petition for quashing the impugned FIR is that before registration of the impugned FIR, an FIR was already registered against the petitioner at Women Police Station, Hisar, Haryana on the same complaint filed by respondent No. 2, who happened to be the father of respondent No. 3.

3. It is averred in the petition that the earlier complaint filed by respondent No. 2 before the Superintendent of Police, District Hisar is verbatim of the complaint filed before the Women Police Station, Udaipur resulted in the lodgment of the impugned FIR. It is also averred that in the FIR No. 19/2015 of Women Police Station, Hisar, Haryana, the police has already concluded the investigation and filed charge-sheet against the petitioner in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Hisar, Haryana and the said court after taking cognizance against the petitioner for the offence punishable under section 498A IPC has framed charge for the aforesaid offence and some prosecution witnesses have also been examined. It is further averred in the petition that it is settled principle of law that there cannot be two FIRs in relation to the same incident and when the FIR was already registered against accused-person for the same incident at Police Station, Hisar, Haryana, the second FIR is not maintainable and is liable to be quashed.

4. It is alleged in this petition that the respondent No. 3 is a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Rajasthan and is posted at Udaipur and by misusing her position as a Senior Officer in the Police Department got the impugned FIR registered against the petitioner only with intention to harass him and his family members. It is further alleged that respondent No. 2 has filed the complaint against the petitioner alleging crime with his daughter - respondent No. 3 though she is major as well as the Senior Officer in the Police Department and she could have lodged the FIR but the respondent No. 2 has lodged the impugned FIR to victimise the petitioner and his family members.

5. It is also alleged that respondent No. 2 while lodging the complaint before the Inspector General of Police, Udaipur has concealed the fact that on the same complaint of him, the police at Hisar has already lodged an FIR against the petitioner and investigation in that FIR is under progress.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that it is settled principle of law that for the same incident, two FIRs cannot be lodged and the subsequent FIR is liable to be quashed. He has placed reliance on decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court rendered in T.T. Antony v. State of Kerala & Ors., 2001 AIR SCW 2571 and Babu Bhai v. State of Gujarat & Ors., (2010) 12 SCC 254. Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the above referred cases has clearly held that if both the FIRs relate to the same incident or in respect of the same occurrence, the second FIR is liable to be quashed.

7. Per contra, learned Public Prosecutor and the counsel appearing for the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 vehemently opposed the prayer of the counsel for the petitioner for quashing the impugned FIR and contended that though the complaints filed by the respondent No. 2, which resulted in registration of two FIRs No. 19/2015 of Women Police Station, Hisar and impugned FIR No. 156/2015 of Women Police Station, Udaipur are same, but all the incidents of harassment for dowry, breach of trust, extortion, cheating and criminal conspiracy have taken place at Udaipur and, therefore, only the impugned FIR is maintainable and the FIR registered at the Women Police Station, Hisar is of no consequence as neither the Women Police Station, Hisar nor the J