2024:CGHC:44493-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR Digitally signed by BABLU BABLU RAJENDRA RAJENDRA BHANARKAR BHANARKAR Date:

2024.11.18

18:14:41 CRMP No. 2943 of 2024 +0530 Balai Bose @ Tapas Bose S/o Shri Tarapadha Bose Aged About 42 Years R/o P.V. 26, Village - Mayapur, P.S. Pakhanjur, District- Kanker Chhattisgarh ---- Petitioner versus

1. State of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department of Home, Mantralaya, Naya Raipur, District- Raipur, Chhattisgarh

2. Superintendent of Police, Kanker, District Kanker Chhattisgarh 3. Thana In Charge P.S. - Pakhanjur, District- Kanker, Chhttisgarh

4. Asim Pal S/o Ashok Kumar Pal, Aged About 44 Years R/o Shop P.V. 40, In Front of Bajaj Showroom, Purushottam Nagar, P.S. -

Pakhanjur, District- Kanker, Chhattisgarh ---- Respondents CRMP No. 2882 of 2024 Balai Bose @ Tapas Bose S/o Shri Tarapadha Bose Aged About 42 Years R/o P.V. 26, Village - Mayapur P.S. Pakhanjur District - Kanker (C.G.)

----Petitioner Versus

1. State of Chhattisgarh, Through Secretary Department of Home, Mantralaya, Naya Raipur District Raipur (C.G.)

2. Superintendent of Police, Kanker District - Kanker (C.G.)

3. Thana In Charge P.S. - Pakhanjur District - Kanker (C.G.)

4. Khemleshwar Sahu S/o Dhanau Sahu Aged About 42 Years R/o Near Shop P.V. 40, In Front of Bajaj Showroom Purushottam Nagar P.S. Pakhanjur District - Kanker (C.G.)

---- Respondents For Petitioners : Ms. Rajni Soren, Advocate.

For Respondents : Mr. Shailendra Sharma, Panel Lawyer.

No. 1 to 3/State Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Amitendra Kishore Prasad , Judge

Order on Board

Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice

14.11.2024

1. Heard Ms. Rajni Soren, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. Shailendra Sharma, learned Panel Lawyer, appearing for respondent Nos. 1 to 3/State.

2. The petitioner has filed CRMP No.2943 of 2024 with the following prayers:

“ (1) Quash FIR No. 171/2024 registered at Police Station Pakhanjur, District – Kanker.

(2) Pass any other order in view of the special facts and circumstances mentioned in the present petition, in the interest of justice.”

3. The petitioner has filed CRMP No.2882 of 2024 with the following prayers:

(1) Quash FIR No. 172/2024 registered at Police Station Pakhanjur, District – Kanker.

(2) Pass any other order in view of the special facts and circumstances mentioned in the present petition, in the interest of justice.”

4. Brief facts are necessary for the case are that the petitioner is a journalist who works as a correspondent from Pakhanjur, Kanker. He has previously work with newspaper Hari Bhumi. Presently, he is a correspondent with Navbharat. The petitioner reports on range of issues from Pakhanjur Kanker. In the recent past there have been a lot of complaints regarding poor quality of adulterated fertilizer being sold in the market. Farmers, Consumers, Farmer Unions have been raising the issue and the government authorities have taken action against Fertilizer Manufacturing Companies. The petitioner as a correspondent has been reporting the issue of poor quality fertilizer and his news reports were regularly being published. It is submitted that similar news reports were being published by all news papers and news channels. There was manufacturing one particular company fertilizer Kavita Fertilizer, Rajnandgaon whose products were found to be substandard. FIR's were registered against the company in Madhya Pradesh for selling substandard fertilizers, after which the news was reported across media houses in Chhattisgarh. The management of Kavita Fertilizers was angered by the petitioner's reporting. In reality the petitioner had reported on the poor quality of fertilizers available in the market and had not targeted any particular company as evident from the news reports. In order to stop negative coverage, fertilizer company Kavita Fertilizer has lodged two FIR's - FIR No. 171/2024 and FIR No. 172/2024 at Police Station - Pakhanjur, District- Kanker (C.G.) against the petitioner. The petiti