The court upheld the FIR against the petitioner, ruling that sufficient allegations existed to constitute cognizable offences, and the truth of these allegations could not be evaluated at the quashing stage.

JUDGMENT :

Rakesh Kainthla, J.

The petitioner has filed the present petition for quashing of FIR No. 43 of 2021 dated 29^th July 2021, registered for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station, Sangla District Kinnaur and the proceedings in police challan No. 24/2023, titled State of H.P. versus Vidya Bhagat and another pending before learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, District Kinnaur, H.P. (learned Trial Court). (The parties shall hereinafter be referred to in the same manner in which they are arrayed before the learned Trial Court for convenience).

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present petition are that Tehsildar/Executive Magistrate, Sangla filed a complaint before Station House Officer (SHO), Sangla stating that it was brought to his notice by Tehsil Welfare Officer Sangla that the accused-Vidya Bhagat had submitted two different income certificates dated 26^th February 2021 with same unique ID number INC 2021224121581656, showing different incomes of Rs.45,000/- and Rs. 35,000. Vidya Bhagat was called telephonically on 7^th July 2021. He stated that he had only passed 4^th class and had no knowledge of mobile/computer. He got two income certificates from Lok Mitra Kendra, Sangla run by petitioner Hari Singh, a Document Writer. The police registered the FIR and conducted an investigation. The police recorded the statements of the witnesses and seized the hard disk of the petitioner’s computer and other records. The documents and hard disk were sent to FSL, Junga. A report was received that the printout of the certificates matched each other and a soft copy of the certificates could not be found on the hard disk. The police filed a charge sheet before the learned Trial Court after the completion of the investigation.

3. Being aggrieved by the registration of FIR and the filing of chargesheet, the petitioner filed the present petition asserting that the allegations in the FIR and the evidence produced on record are not sufficient to implicate the petitioner for the commission of the cognizable offences. The main accused-Vidya Bhagat has expired and the statement made by him before the Tehsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate cannot be proved as per the law. There is no other material to implicate the petitioner. The report of FSL, Junga is not specific regarding this fact. The conduct of the informant is suspicious. He destroyed the entire record of the office and a departmental enquiry was conducted against him for the destruction of the record. The record would have been relevant for the determination of the lis. The investigations were not conducted fairly. Vidya Bhagat had also submitted one certificate in the year 2015 showing his income as Rs.32,000. This certificate was not prepared at the petitioner’s Lok Mitra Kendra. Vidya Bhagat came to the petitioner’s Lok Mitra Kendra on 26^th February 2021 and disclosed his income as Rs.45,000. This certificate was approved by the competent authority. He again visited the petitioner’s Lok Mitra Kendra on the 4^th of May, 2021 and disclosed his income as Rs.35,000. This was rejected by the concerned authority. The allegations in the FIR do not disclose the commission of a cognizable offence. The FIR was lodged with mala fide intention to wreak vengeance upon the petitioner. The investigating agency did not check the hard disk of the computers of other Lok Mitra Kendra, Tehsil Office or Tehsil Welfare Officer. The agency targeted the petitioner and his Lok Mitra Kendra. Therefore, it was prayed that the present petition be allowed, and the FIR and the consequential proceedings arising out of the FIR be quashed.

4. The petition is opposed by filing a reply. It was asserted that allegations in the FIR constituted the commission of a cognizable offence. The police conducted an investigation and filed a chargesheet before the competent court of law. The death of accused Vidya