The main legal point established in the judgment is that the police have the statutory right to investigate only when an offence is disclosed, and the Court can interfere with the investigation to prevent abuse of the process of the Court or to secure the ends of justice.

( 1 ) FACTUAL aspects of all these cases being almost similar, they were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

( 2 ) FOR better appreciation, we would refer to the allegations made in the F. I. R. on the basis of which case crime No. 412 of 2002 has been registered at Dhoomanganj P. S. , District Allahabad. Smt. Geeta Singh, Trade Tax Officer, Sector-IV, Allahabad lodged the report alleging that in the year 1993-94 M/s. Atique Enterprises, Kasari Masari, Allahabad lifted scrap iron weighing 110 Mt. Tons from Subedarganj Depot of Northern Railway on depositing rupees 72,600/- as earnest money without getting the said firm registered in the State Trade Tax department. On this allegation, she moved the police and prayed for taking appropriate legal action and on her complaint, the aforementioned case was registered against the persons named therein under Section 420, I. P. C.

( 3 ) THE petitioner, by filing the present petition, has sought for quashing of the impugned F. I. R. in exercise of extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and to restrain the police from taking the petitioner to judicial custody who has been languishing in the jail in some other cases.

( 4 ) COUNTER-AFFIDAVITS sworn to by the informant Smt. Geeta Singh as well as Ram Adhar Rai, the investigating officer are filed.

( 5 ) FIRST, we will make brief reference to the counter-affidavit of the informant since on her report police sprang into action and registered the aforesaid case. It is stated in the affidavit that the firm M/s. Atique Enterprises, Allahabad does not exist at all and even its address is not complete and correct. Moreover such firm is not registered with the trade tax department under the U. P. Trade Tax Act. However, in the name of such firm purchase of scrap iron is being made from the Railway without paying any tax to the State. She has further stated that one of the eligibility criteria for a firm to participate in the auction held by the Railway is that it must have obtained trade licence as well as trade tax number and also central sales tax number. In the case on hand, M/s. Atique Enterprises without satisfying such conditions, all the time took part in the auction and purchased scrap iron from the depot of the Northern Railway without paying any tax to the State.

( 6 ) IN the other affidavit filed by the investigating officer, the facts narrated in the counter-affidavit of the informant are almost reiterated and nothing more have been pleaded for determining the question in issue.

( 7 ) IN sum and substance, the case of the prosecution, as borne out from the F. I. R. and the two counter-affidavits, is that the petitioner, proprietor of the firm M/s. Atique Enterprises without getting the firm registered under the U. P. Trade Tax Act, took part in the auction of scrap iron held by the Northern Railway and purchased the same without paying any tax to the State. In the above back-ground, the question arises that even assuming the prosecution allegation as true, whether on such accusation offence of cheating punishable under Section 420, I. P. C. is made out in order to enable the police to investigate into the said offence.

( 8 ) SRI S. M. A. Kazmi, counsel for the petitioner contended that the present case is a glaring example of police atrocities, inas- much as, the impugned FIR which does not disclose commission of any offence, more so any cognizable offence, the local police being politically influenced registered the case with oblique motive to put him behind the bar for his having opposed the parties in power in many matters. Sri Kazmi further urged that exercise of power of investigation by the police as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure is dependent upon the information disclosing commission of a cognizable offence. The Apex Court in a series of judicial pronouncements has laid down that if the police transgress their power as enjoined upo