Advocates:
['DUSHYANT MAINALI', '', 'GIRISH CHANDRA LAKHCHAURA', 'G A']

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND

AT NAINITAL

Criminal Misc. Application No.1823 of 2022

Jayprakash Tiwari

.....Applicant

Vs.

State of Uttarakhand & another

…..Respondents

Present:- Mr. G.C. Lakhchaura, Advocate for the applicant.

Mr.

Pramod

Tiwari,

Brief

Holder,

for

the

State

of

Uttarakhand/1.

Hon’ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J (Oral)

The

present

C482

Application,

the

applicant, who has been charged for the offence

under section 269 and 270 of the IPC, is being tried

in

Criminal

Case

No.600

of

2020,

“State

of

Uttarakhand Vs. Vinay Sikarwal and others”, which

stood registered against him as a consequence of the

submission of the Charge Sheet, being Charge Sheet

No.514 of 2020, dated 14^th September 2020, and the

consequential summoning order dated 15^th October,

2020, whereby, the applicant was summoned to face

the aforesaid trial for the alleged involvement of the

present applicant in the offence under sections 269

and 270 of the IPC.

2.

The brief facts of the case are that,

according to the applicant, an FIR dated 03.05.2020,

was got registered at Police Station Muni-ki-Reti,

District Tehri Garhwal, as against the applicant on

an allegation, that while driving a car along with

some other persons during the period when the Covid

19 restrictions were imposed by the Government of

2

India, due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the

car was being driven in violation of the guidelines and

the permission which stood granted to the applicant

by the Additional District Magistrate, with regards to

the number of the passengers, which were permitted

to be carried in the vehicle, which according to the

permission granted, it was only in respect of total 9

persons, limited to three persons per car, but in each

of the cars one person was found to be extra,

travelling in the car, which had created a risk of

spread of pandemic, and hence, the act of the

applicant as complaint of in the FIR dated 3^rd May

2020, was taken as to be an offence under section

188, 269, and 270 of IPC, and section 2/3 of the

Pandemic Act, 1987, and under Section 51 (b) of the

Disaster Management Act.

3.

The investigation was carried, and the

Charge Sheet was submitted, being Charge Sheet No.

514 of 2020, against the applicant and the other co-

accused persons for the offences, as referred to

hereinabove. On completion of the investigation, it is

the case of the applicant that without application of

mind, and without there being any sufficient material

consideration made by the court, a mechanical

conclusion has been arrived at for leveling an

allegation of the commission of the offence under

section 269 and 270 of the IPC, on the present

applicant. After the submission of the Charge Sheet,

the cognizance had been taken by the court of

Judicial Magistrate, Narendra Nagar, Tehri Garhwal,

on 15^th October 2020, the summoning order was

3

issued on 15^th October 2020, which are the subject

matter of challenge in the present 482 application.

4.

Learned Counsel for the applicant had

submitted that no offence under sections 269 and

270 of IPC, are made out for the reason being that in

order to attract an individuals involvement in the

commission of the offences under section 269 of the

Indian Penal Code, the basic ingredient, which is

required is the instrumentality of an individual to

have indulged into an act, which had a possibility of

spreading of the disease. The allegation attributed to

the applicant was limited to the extent of carrying

number of passengers more than the permissible

limit.

5.

In that eventuality, if there was a violation

of the permission granted, the issue would be as to

whether the said offence could be at all said to be an

offence under sections 269 and 270 of the Indian

Penal Code or not? It has been argued by the learned

Counsel for the applicant