HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU Reserved on: 30.12.2024 Pronounced on: 09.04.2024 CRM(M) 466/2023 CrlM 870/2023

1. Munish Bhatia, age 52 years S/o Sh. Madan Mohan Bhatia, R/o 8-A Canal Road, Jammu.

2. Sidharth Bhatia, age 50 years S/o Sh. Madan Mohan Bhatia, R/o 8-A Canal Road, Jammu.

… Petitioners/Appellant(s)

Through: Mr. Vishal Goel, Advocate V/s UT of Jammu and Kashmir Through Incharge Police Station ACB, Jammu.

… Respondent(s)

Through: Mrs. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JAVED IQBAL WANI, JUDGE

J U D G M E N T

09-04-2025

1. The petitioners in the instant petition have invoked inherent power of this court enshrined in section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of order dated 12-05-2023 (for short “impugned order”) passed by the Court of Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Jammu (for short “trial court”) in case titled as “State versus Satish Khajuria and others” arising out of FIR no. 2 of 2014, registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for commission of offences under section 5(1)(d) read with section 52 of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, Samvat 2006 (for short “Act of 2006”) and Section 120-B of Ranbir Penal Code (for short “RPC”).

2. Factual Background • The petitioners herein claim to be owners of plot no. 292-A situated at Gandhi Nagar, Apsara Road, Jammu and assert that they applied for and came to be granted a building permission by Jammu Municipal Corporation (for short “JMC”) in the year 2012 to construct a residential structure, during the raising of the which construction, certain deviations took place, whereupon noticing the same, the then Chief Khilafwarzi Officer of the JMC issued a show caused notice against the petitioners under section 7(1) of the Control of Building Operations Act 1988 (for short “Act of 1988”) dated 14- 08-2012, alleging therein that the petitioners had begun excavation for a basement and had not constructed partition walls in the construction suggesting a possible commercial use of the said construction and that on the very same date i.e. 14-08-2012, another notice was issued by the JMC under section 12(1) of the Act of 1988 directing the petitioners herein to discontinue the unauthorizedly raised construction followed by a demolition order dated 17.12.2012 issued by the JMC under section 7(3) of the Act of 1988.

• The petitioners herein feeling aggrieved of the said demolition order dated 17-12-2012 supra, filed an appeal under section 13 of the Act of 1988 before the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal, Jammu on 27-12-2012, which appeal came to be disposed of by the Tribunal on 16.03.2013, holding that the deviations mentioned in the demolition order are of minor nature and thus directed the regularization of the same upon payment of prescribed compounding fee by the petitioners, which the petitioners claim to have deposited before the JMC.

• Meanwhile, on 13-12-2012, an anonymous complaint is stated to have been lodged before the Vigilance Organization (ACB), Jammu against the petitioners qua the construction in question resulting into registration of FIR no. 2 of 2013 dated 9-1-2014 by the ACB against the petitioners and various officials of JMC, alleging in the said FIR that the accused JMC officials had facilitated raising of unauthorized construction by the petitioners and the investigation in the said FIR culminated into filing of a charge sheet before the trial court on 3-3-

2023 being case titled as “State vs. Satish Khajuria and others”.

• Upon receiving copy of the charge sheet, the petitioners claimed to have discovered certain crucial documents including the notices issued under the Act of 1988 not included in the charge sheet, as such, filed an application before the trial court seeking its leave to place the said relevant documents on record whereupon the trial court, after hearing the prosecution, as well as the accused persons including the counsel for the petitioners in terms of the impugned order framed ch