ORDER

Petitioner challenges the final report in C.C. No.824/2024 on the files of Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-III Muvattupuzha. The aforesaid proceedings arise out of Crime No.1089/2023 of Muvattupuzha Police Station alleging that petitioner had committed offences under Sections 153 and 506(i) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2. The prosecution alleges that the petitioner, who is a member of a WhatsApp group, had, with intent to commit rioting amongst the public, posted a message stating that a plan had been formed to kill the Chief Minister and the Cabinet Ministers of Kerala before 08-07-2024 and posted a letter in the WhatsApp group on 28.06.2023 purportedly addressed to the Director General of Police and thereby committed the offences under Sections 153 and 506(i) of IPC.

3. I have heard Smt.Radhika Ramachandran, the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Smt. Sreeja V., the learned Public Prosecutor.

4. A perusal of the final report reveals that the accused is alleged to have posted in the WhatsApp group, a letter addressed to the Director General of Police which reads as follows: ‘This is to let you know that we have mobilised our troops. Our next target is the Chief Minister of Kerala and the entire ministry. The Chief Minister and all other Cabinet Ministers will be shot dead'. The aforesaid message posted in the WhatsApp group is alleged to be an offence under Sections 153 and

506(i) of IPC.

5. The learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the defacto complainant has expressed his disinterestedness to proceed with the case. Apart from the above, it is noticed that the WhatsApp message allegedly posted by the petitioner cannot attract an offence under Section 153 IPC as the message does not amount to anything that tends to create a riot or provoke any person to commit a riot. Further, the ingredients of Section 153 IPC require that the accused must do an illegal act malignantly and wantonly, which provoked a person and it was done with the intention or knowledge that it will cause a riot.

6. A reading of the final report reveals that even if it is assumed that what was done by the accused was a wanton and illegal act, there is nothing to indicate nor is there any allegation even, that any person was provoked or that the accused knew that any such provocation if caused would result in the commission of rioting. In the absence of any allegation in the final report that by the wanton act of the accused, any person was provoked or he knew that by such an act rioting would occur, the offence under section 153 IPC is not attracted.

7. Apart from the above, a reading of the final report also does not indicate that the offence under Section 506(i) IPC is attracted. The letter purported to have been written to the Director General of Police though in the form of a threat, no one has a case that those persons i.e. the Chief Minister and the Cabinet Ministers felt threatened or alarmed by the WhatsApp message. In such circumstances, the offence under Section 506(i) IPC also will not apply.

8. In the above circumstances, I am satisfied that the offences under Section 153 or Section 506(i) are not attracted in the nature of the allegations. Therefore the uncontroverted allegations in the final report do not make out any of the offence alleged and hence the proceedings are liable to be quashed.

Accordingly, all proeedings intiated against the peitioner in C.C.

No.824/2024 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court-III, Muvattupuzha is hereby quashed.

Crl. M.C is allowed as above.