JUDGMENT :

Shree Chandrashekhar, J.

This writ petition has been filed by 3 sitting MLAs of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. They have questioned registration of zero FIR by the officer-in-charge of Argora PS at Ranchi on the complaint of the respondent no. 4 made on 31st July 2022 and transmission thereof to Panchla PS within the district of Howrah (Gramin) in the State of West Bengal. The main plank of the petitioners is Kotwali PS Case No. 159 of 2021 which was also registered on the basis of a complaint made by the respondent no. 4 on 22nd July 2021 and is still pending investigation. According to the petitioners, the registration of zero FIR dated 31st July 2022 is illegal, without authority of law and tantamounts to second FIR corresponding to Kotwali PS Case No. 159 of 2021.

2. In this writ petition, the petitioners have made the following prayers:

“(i) issue a writ of certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to quash/set aside the illegal and arbitrary registration of complaint dated 31.07.2022 (part of Annexure-1) as Zero FIR and consequential transfer of the same being mala fide, arbitrary and void ab initio,

and/or

(ii) issue a writ of certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction quashing/set aside the Transfer of the Complaint/ZERO FIR dated 31.07.2022 being Panchla PS. Case No. 276/2022 dated 31.07.2022 (Annexure-1) u/s 420, 120B, 171(E), 34, 468, 471, 201 and 467 of the Penal Code, 1860 and sections 7, 11, 12, 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988;

and/or

(iii) issue or pass any writ, direction or order which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper under the facts and circumstances of the case.”

3. Briefly stated, on 22nd July 2021, the respondent no. 4 who is a sitting MLA from Bermo constituency in the State of Jharkhand provided information to the officer-in-charge of Kotwali PS at Ranchi that in furtherance of a conspiracy to topple the JMM-RJD-Congress coalition government some influential people and financers have arrived at Ranchi, they are staying in different hotels and are trying to allure MLAs. On the basis of his written complaint, Kotwali PS Case No. 159 of 2021 was registered on 22nd July 2021 under sections 419, 420, 124-A, 120-B read with section 34 of the Penal Code, 1860, sections 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 171-B of the Representation of the Peoples Act. On 30th July 2022, the respondent no. 4 gave a similar complaint to Argora PS again raising an apprehension that some political persons are trying to topple the government of the day. A sanha entry was made at 03 : 00 PM on 30th July 2022 in Argora PS at Ranchi in which the officer-in-charge of Argora PS has made a remark that he himself would make enquiry into the allegations in the said complaint.

4. The sanha entry dated 30th July 2022 which appears at serial no. 21 in the Station Diary has been made in the following words:

At this hour, Kumar Jaimangal @ Anup Singh, Bermo MLA (Jharkhand) has submitted an application stating that some political persons of Jharkhand are trying to topple the popular and majority Government of Jharkhand by alluring people in different ways. A sanha entry has been made regarding this information. I shall myself conduct the enquiry in this regard. [English Translation]

5. On 31st July 2022, the respondent no. 4 gave another complaint to Argora PS at Ranchi raising a similar apprehension and making allegations against the petitioners on the basis of which zero FIR under sections 420, 124-A, 120-B read with section 34 of the Penal Code, 1860, section 171-B of the Representation of the Peoples Act and section 8/9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered.

6. Before that, at about 05 : 05 PM on 30th July 2022 the officer-in-charge of Panchla PS had made General Diary Entry of the following information:

“By this time myself received information from district control room that one black colour Fortuner car vide Reg. No. JH09-AQ-00