IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 02.12.2025 SANJAY KUMAR ......Petitioner VERSUS STATE OF HARYANA .......Respondent CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINOD S. BHARDWAJ *****

Present: - Mr. Sunil Sihag, Advocate for the petitioner.

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VINOD S. BHARDWAJ, J. (Oral)

The present petition has been filed seeking quashing of FIR No.

269 dated 31.12.2022 registered under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 at Police Station RozkaMeo, District Nuh (Mewat) alongwith all other consequential proceedings arising therefrom.

2. Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner has vehemently contended that the present FIR has been falsely registered on the basis of complaint submitted by the Chief Minister Flying Squad, allegedly on receipt of a secret information, in the year 2022, pertaining to works undertaken earlier in Gram Panchayat Kaliaka, Block Indri, District Nuh alleging discrepancies in the works executed under the MGNREGA Scheme and to the effect the Government funds have been diverted by creating fake account(s) while the work had been got executed by deployment of machines. A preliminary inquiry was conducted in which the petitioner was joined and on completion thereof, a final report has been filed.

3. Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner contends that the Government of Haryana had authorized the Block Development and Panchayat Officer to carry out the development work in the Gram Panchayat since the tenure of the elected Gram Panchayat had already come to an end. The work of filling up of the sand and WBM towards the field of one Maniram of Village Kaliakawas was sanctioned in the month of June 2021 by the Block Development & Panchayat Officer, on the basis of the recommendation of Secretary of the Gram Panchayat, for which a sum of Rs. 881960/- was sanctioned. Out of which Rs. 3,67, 920/- was sanctioned for MGNREGA Labour and Rs. 514037/- for the procurement of material.

4. Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner has vehemently contended that the petitioner was transferred to Indri Block only in the month of July, 2021 and that the alleged fake accounts in question had been opened in March, 2021. The amount of Rs. 3,67,920/- was sanctioned on 21.06.2021 i.e. before the petitioner had joined at the station. He thus contends that the registration of the FIR against the petitioner and filing of the final report against him is based upon non-appreciation of the material and relevant facts. Since, the petitioner was not even posted at the time when the embezzlement allegedly took place, hence, FIR qua him deserves to be quashed.

5. I have heard learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and have gone through the documents appended alongwith the present petition.

6. The vehement reliance of the petitioner is on the communication dated 21.06.2021. He has been asserting that the said the said letter establishes that the funds in question had been appropriated much prior to the petitioner having joined. A perusal of the said letter however shows that the contention raised by the petitioner is based upon misreading of the said letter and is actually misleading.

7. It is evident from a perusal of the aforesaid letter that the said letter was sent by the Junior Engineer, the Panchyat Secretary for seeking permission from the Block Development & Panchayat Officer for disbursement of the amount. The same was thus not an instance of approval of disbursement to the different accounts.

8. A specific question was put to the Counsel for the petitioner as to what was the date on which the sanction was granted by the Block Development & Panchayat Officer for disbursement of the said amount and the specific information about when such payment had been transferred to the respective accounts that had been found to be fraudulent accounts by the Investigating Agency, Counsel for the petitioner is not in a position to refer to any document that would establ