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NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-GWL:4305

1 MCRC-3432-2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH

AT GWALIOR

BEFORE

HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MILIND RAMESH PHADKE

rd

ON THE 3 OF FEBRUARY, 2026

MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 3432 of 2016

M.P. VATS

Versus

THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS

Appearance:

Shri Sanjay Kumar Sharma - Advocate for the petitioner.

Ms. Kalpana Parmar - Public Prosecutor for the State.

ORDER

This petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 / Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,

seeking quashment of FIR in Crime No. 677/2011 registered at Police

Station Padav, District Gwalior (M.P.) for the offence punishable under

Section 477-A of the Indian Penal Code.

The prosecution case, in brief, is that respondent No.4 reported

loss/misplacement of 26 files pertaining to various cooperative societies

from the office of the Gwalior Development Authority. One such file related

to Ankit Grah Nirman Sahkari Samiti. As per the record, the said file was

last issued to an office clerk, namely Anand Maurya, who acknowledged

receipt thereof. During inquiry, Anand Maurya stated that he had handed

over the file to the present petitioner during his tenure as Chief Executive

Officer. On the basis of the said statement, both Anand Maurya and the

Signature Not Verified

Signed by: PAWAN KUMAR

Signing time: 2/4/2026

10:55:16 AM

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-GWL:4305

2 MCRC-3432-2016

petitioner came to be implicated.

Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the criminal

proceedings are wholly misconceived and amount to abuse of the process of

law. It was argued that the petitioner had served as Chief Executive Officer

only from 04.07.1994 to 30.06.1998 and had retired long prior to the alleged

incident. The FIR was registered on 06.11.2011, more than thirteen years

after the petitioner’s retirement. It was further submitted that even as per the

FIR, the concerned file was handed over to clerk Anand Maurya on

21.11.2009, when the petitioner was admittedly not in service. Therefore, the

allegation that the file was handed over to the petitioner was asserted to be

impossible and inherently absurd.

It was further argued that the petitioner has been implicated solely on

the basis of the statement of co-accused Anand Maurya and that no

independent or corroborative material exists. Reliance was placed upon

Haricharan Kurmi v. State of Bihar (AIR 1964 SC 1184), Ashok Kumar v.

State (Delhi Administration) (AIR 1996 SC 265), and other judgments to

contend that the statement or confession of a co-accused is not substantive

evidence. It was also submitted that the FIR does not name the petitioner nor

attribute any specific overt act or mens rea to him and, therefore, does not

satisfy the parameters laid down in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (AIR

1992 SC 604) and Neelu Chopra v. Bharti (2009) 10 SCC 184.

Learned counsel further relied upon Rule 9 of the Madhya Pradesh

Pension Rules, 1976 and the decision in Gatto Parmanand Champalal v.

State of M.P., MP Journal 2004 (4), to submit that initiation and continuation

Signature Not Verified

Signed by: PAWAN KUMAR

Signing time: 2/4/2026

10:55:16 AM

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-GWL:4305

3 MCRC-3432-2016

of proceedings after retirement is impermissible.

Per contra, learned Public Prosecutor opposed the petition, submitting

that the FIR discloses commission of a cognizable offence involving loss of

official records and public interest. It was argued that the petitioner has been

implicated on the basis of material collected during investigation and that the

veracity or evidentiary value of such material cannot be examined in

proceedings under Section 482 CrPC. It was further contended that disputed

questions of fact are involved, which are required to be examined during

investigation or trial.

Heard counsel for the parties and perused the record.

It is well settled that the inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC

is extraordinary and is to be exercised sparingly, with circumspection, and

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