Filing an FIR based on civil disputes without evidence of criminality is an abuse of process; mere misrepresentation for Aadhaar does not constitute an offence under the relevant legal provisions.

Order :

ARUN MONGA, J.

1. Petitioner, a 68 years old senior citizen house wife and a resident of United States of America, is before this Court seeking quashing of an FIR No.183/2024 dated 23.08.2024 registered at Police Station Mathania, District Jodhpur City (East) for alleged offences under Sections 61 (2)(a), 62, 318(4), 338, 336(3), 336(4), 340(2), 341(2), 339, 342(1), 342(2) and 351(3) of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

2. Briefly, relevant facts of the case are that the aforesaid FIR was lodged on application/compliant filed by one Vishal Singh under Section 175 (3) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita [corresponding with Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C]. It was claimed that complainant had ancestral and possessory rights over 34 Bigha 11 Biswa of land in Khasra No. 519 in village Tinwari. The complaint stated that only the name of great-grandfather's brother was registered during the settlement process, which is currently pending in the Revenue Court, Osia and also Civil Court, Jodhpur.

2.1 The complainant alleged that Nirmala Purohit petitioner and others, concealed their American citizenship and used fraudulent documents to obtain Aadhaar cards to facilitate land purchase in India. The accused are said to have colluded with others to create fake documents and falsely claim Indian citizenship. It is alleged that a fraudulent land agreement was registered on April 17, 2023, in Tehsil Tinwari, favouring Narpat Singh Rajpurohit, another American citizen, who also allegedly obtained an Aadhaar card fraudulently. The petitioner is accused of misrepresenting herself as an Indian national. Hence the FIR.

3. In the aforesaid backdrop, I have heard both the learned counsels as well as the learned Pubilc Prosecutor and have gone through the case file.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner argues that civil litigation is currently pending in the trial court, as acknowledged by the complainant in FIR No. 183/2024. The counsel argues that the complainant has lodged this FIR with the malicious intent to extort money from the innocent NRI petitioner and to blackmail her. The counsel contends that the present FIR is ex-facie mala fide. The continuation of the FIR, investigations and the subsequent criminal proceedings will be an abuse of the legal process, he urges.

4.1 The petitioner counsel would argue that the documents used to obtain Aadhaar cards are genuine and legally obtained. Recent changes to Aadhaar guidelines allow NRIs to update their information either offline or online through the nearest Aadhaar Seva Kendra or the UIDAI website/mobile application, eliminating the previous requirement of a mandatory 182-day residency period for Aadhaar enrolment. Form 1 in Schedule I to the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations 2016, updated on January 16, 2024, specifies in Declaration (c) that an NRI can use a valid Indian passport for identification. Similarly, Form 2 also requires only a valid Indian passport.

5. Learned Public prosecutor at the very outset submits that once an FIR is registered law will take its own course and no indulgence of this Court is warranted. He submits that in case after investigation, it is found that no offence is committed, an appropriate report in accordance with law will be filed before the competent Court.

5.1 Conversely, in case the petitioner is found involved in commission of any offence in that event, she must face the charges and vindicate her stand at the trial.

6. Learned counsel representing the complainant states that, according to the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Re