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2005 Supreme(Ori) 762

High Court Of Orissa
R. N. BISWAL
RAVI P.REDDY - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF ORISSA - Respondent
Cri. M. C.  1957  Of  2005
Decided On : 12/05/2005

Advocates Appeared:
B.K.MISHRA, B.MISHRA, D.P.Das, H.P.Pattnaik, N.K.Praharaj, P.ROUTRAY, S.ROUTRAY, Subhasis Pattnaik

The power of investigation lies with the police, and the court should not interfere unless the allegations in the FIR do not disclose the commission of an offence.

Headnote:

FIR Quashing - Criminal Procedure Code - Sections 294/341/506 of IPC - Section 154(1) of Cr. P. C.

Fact of the Case:

The case involved a petition seeking the quashing of an FIR filed under Sections 294/341/506 of IPC. The petitioner, a faculty member, was accused of using abusive language, restraining the informant, and threatening his life.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the allegations in the FIR, if accepted in their totality, made out a prima facie case under the relevant sections of IPC. It emphasized that the power of investigation is the domain of the police personnel and that the court should not interfere as long as the case is investigated in accordance with the law.

Issues: The issues revolved around the validity of the allegations in the FIR, the jurisdiction of the court to quash the FIR, and the interpretation of the relevant sections of IPC.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the allegations in the FIR, if they disclose the commission of an offence, should not be quashed at the initial stage. It also emphasized that the power of investigation lies with the police and that the court should not interfere unless the allegations do not constitute an offence.

Final Decision: The court dismissed the petition seeking the quashing of the FIR, stating that it would be erroneous to conclude that the case should not be proceeded with at the current stage of investigation.

( 1 ) THIS CRLMC arises out of a petition under Section 482 of Cr. P. C. seeking quashing of the F. I. R. vide Golanthara p. S. case No. 101 dated 4-8-2005 giving rise to G. R. case No. 1150 of 2005 pending on the file of the S. D. J. M. Berhampur.

( 2 ) AS depicted in the F. I. R. informant and his wife are founding members and doners of S. M. Charitable Educational trust, which promotes the Engineering College, after the name National Institute of science and Technology (hereinafter referred as 'nist') established at Palur Hills under golanthara Police Station, Berhampur. He is also Chairman of the Governing Body of nist and S. M. Charitable Educational Trust. Mr. Sangam Muduli is the Director of NIST. With prior notice to Mr. Sangram Muduli, for discussion on important matter relating to NIST, he visited it at 10 a. m. on 3rd August 2005 to find Mr. Muduli absent there. The informant was made to understand that the accused-petitioner, one of the faculty members of NIST was in charge of the Director, Mr. Muduli. When he asked him to open the conference hall where he (informant) used to sit on his visit to NIST, he physically restrained him, used abusive language and threatened to his life. So, on 4-8-2005 at 3. 30 p. m he lodged a written report before the O. I. C. of Golanthara P. S. who treated it as F. I. R. and registered P. S. Case no. 101 of 2005 under Sections 294/341/506 of I. P. C. The accused-petitioner has sought for quashing the said F. I. R, as stated earlier.

( 3 ) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner submitted that as per the F. I. R. , informant is the Chairman of the Governing Body of nist and S. M. Charitable Educational trust. But, in fact he does not hold either of the offices. So, the contents of the F. I. R are outright false. The accused/petitioner is a distinguished-academician having the qualification of B. Tech in I. I. T. Khadapur with m. S. and Ph. D. degree from the University of Houston, U. S. A. It appears inherently improbable that he committed the offence as alleged. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted that even if the allegations made in the F. I. R. are believed to be true, still then, the same cannot prima facie make out a case for the offence under Sections 294/341/506 of I. P. C. , particularly when the informant has no right to enter the Conference Hall. As such the F. I. R deserves to be quashed. To prove that the informant is neither the Chairman of the Governing Body of NIST nor that of the S. M. Charitable Educational Trust he relied upon Annexure-3 and the intervention petition filed by the informant before this Court.

( 4 ) PER contra, learned Addl. Standing counsel contended that at this stage neither Annexure-3 nor the intervention petition can be gone into or else it would mean permitting the accused-petitioner to adduce his defence before the case is investigated into, which is against the principle of criminal jurisprudence. Only because the accused-petitioner is a distinguished academician, it cannot be said before investigating into the case that he is not involved in the crime in question. If the allegations made in the F. I. R. are accepted in their totality then a prima facie case under Sections 294/341/506 of I. P. C. is made out against the accused-petitioner. So the learned Addl. Standing Counsel pressed to dismiss the crlmc.

( 5 ) GENERALLY at the stage of investigation no document, filed on behalf of the accused should be entertained so as to stifle the prosecution at the threshold, but unimpeachable documentary evidence of sterling quality can be taken into consideration, if the same is required to secure the ends of justice or to avoid abuse of process of Court. Annexure-3 is an extract of the resolution passed in meeting No. 39 of S. M. Charitable Educational Trust held on 29-7-2005 at the Conference Hall NIST, wherein eight persons were unanimously nominated to the governing Body of NIST. The name of the petitioner does not find place in it, w







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