Allowed

Vijay Kumar Mani Tripathi and 3 Others v. State of U.P. .and Another

Allahabad HC26 May 2023A482/15221/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court allowed an application under Section 482 CrPC to quash criminal proceedings alleging issuance of fake mark-sheets. The Court held that since it had previously declared the degree genuine in a writ petition, the prosecution lacked jurisdiction and the charge-sheet was an abuse of process.

What did the court decide?

The proceedings in Criminal Case No. 22892 of 2022, State v. Vipin Kumar Sharma and others, under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B I.P.C., are quashed.

Vijay Kumar Mani Tripathi and 3 Others Vs State of U.P… — Cheque Dishonour | Allahabad HC (2023)

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Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:118811

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Court No. - 64

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Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 15221 of 2023

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Applicant :- Vijay Kumar Mani Tripathi And 3 Others Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. .And Another Counsel for Applicant :- Alok Mishra,Vikas Sharma Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

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Hon'ble J.J. Munir,J.

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Heard Mr. Vikas Sharma along with Mr. Alok Sharma, learned Counsel for the applicants, Mr. S.K. Pal, learned Additional Advocate Government assisted by Mr. Shashi Shekhar Tiwari, learned Additional Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the State.

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On 12.05.2023, this Court was passed the following order :

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The applicants have come up, seeking to quash the proceedings of Case No. 22892 of 2022, State v. Vipin Kumar Sharma and others (arising out of Case Crime No. 79 of 2021), under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B I.P.C., Police Station Chetganj, District Varanasi, pending in the Court of the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi.

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The applicants face criminal prosecution after investigation of Case Crime No. 79 of 2021, under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B I.P.C., Police Station Chetganj, District Varanasi, where the allegation against them, on the basis of the first information report lodged by Ram Darash Mishra, Inspector, Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department ('CBCID' for short) Sector, Varanasi is that they, along with other co-accused, who are officials in the Examination Section of the Sampuranand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi got bogus mark-sheets in the Shastri examination first year, 2007, Shastri examination second year, 2008 and Shastri examination third year, 2009 issued to the co-accused Vipin Kumar Sharma, who got employment as an Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade (Hindi), 2014 on the basis of the aforesaid bogus degree issued by the Sampuranand Sankskrit University. Co-accused Vipin Kumar Sharma's appointment on the post of Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade (Hindi), 2014 was terminated by the Additional Director, Secondary Education, U.P. at Allahabad vide order dated 11.09.2018 on the selfsame ground that his educational degree in Shastri is not

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genuine. Vipin Kumar Sharma challenged the order of his termination from service by filing a writ petition, being Writ - A No. 25669 of 2018. This Court, while allowing the writ petition and quashing the order dated 11.09.2018, recorded the following finding regarding the genuineness of the petitioner's degree of Shastri, based on a communicated received from the Sampuranand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi :

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Sri Ved Byas Mishra appearing for Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya has produced a communication received from the University, according to which petitioner has passed Shastri Examination in the year 2009, with Roll No. 284159, by scoring 1463 out of 2200 marks. Office notes reiterating such stand has also been placed, and photocopy of such documents is taken on record.

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In view of the certificate provided by the University that petitioner has passed Shastri examination in the year 2009 from Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, there would be no justification to allow the order of the Director of Education, dated 11.9.2018, to be sustained.

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It is quite another matter that co-accused Vipin Kumar Sharma's appointment was later on questioned by his employers on some other grounds, and the orders passed against him in that case by the employers too were set aside in another writ petition, and he was directed to be given employment. Co-accused Vipin Kumar Sharma has ultimately joined after action was taken for contempt of Court vide Contempt Application (Criminal) No. 4 of 2021 against Aradhna Shukla, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of U.P. The net effect of the proceedings taken by co-accused Vipin Kumar Sharma, particularly the finding of this Court recorded in Writ - A No. 25669 of 2018 vide order dated 20.12.2018, is that the degree of Shashtri in each of the three examinations in 2007, 2008 and 2009 under specific roll numbers have been held to be genuine documents. Surprisingly, Devendra Nath Upadhyay, Inspector, CBCID, Sector Varanasi, with the approval of the Additional Superintendent of Police/Sector Officer, CBCID Sector Office, Varanasi has filed a charge-sheet dated 02.11.2022 against the applicants on the allegation of issuing a fake and forged marksheets for the Shastri degree, misusing their position in the Examination Office of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi during all the three years of the examination i.e. 2007, 2008 and 2009 to co-accused Vipin Kumar Sharma. The said chargesheet is prima facie one submitted on or after 02.11.2022 and is directly in the teeth of the findings recorded by this Court that

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the degree of Shastri issued to Vipin Kumar Sharma is genuine. It is well settled that any order that is contrary to the finding or a positive order of a Constitutional Court is void, and so would the charge-sheet also be void.

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The Sector Officer who has approved the charge-sheeet and Devendra Nath Upadhyay, Inspector, CBCID, Sector Varanasi shall appear in person on the next date and explain how they have charge-sheeted the applicants, contrary to the judgment of this Court dated 20.12.2018 passed in Writ - A No. 25669 of 2018. They shall indicate their stand before any further orders are made against them.

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Admit.

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Issue notice.

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Notice is made returnable on 26.05.2023.

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List this application in the additional cause list again on 26.05.2023 at 02:00 p.m. On the said date and time, the Sector Officer concerned at the CBCID Sector Office, Varanasi and Devendra Nath Upadhyay, Inspector, CBCID, Sector Varanasi shall remain present in person before the Court.

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Until further orders of this Court, further proceedings in Case No. 22892 of 2022, State v. Vipin Kumar Sharma and others (arising out of Case Crime No. 79 of 2021), under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B I.P.C., Police Station Chetganj, District Varanasi, pending in the Court of the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi shall remain stayed.

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Let the Registrar (Compliance) communicate this order, by Monday, to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi, who shall serve a copy of this order upon the Sector Officer concerned at the CBCID Sector Office, Varanasi and Devendra Nath Upadhyay, Inspector, CBCID, Sector Varanasi to ensure compliance.

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Today, Dr. Krishna Gopal, the Sector Officer, CBCID Sector Office, Varanasi and Devendra Nath Upadhyay, Inspector, CBCID, Sector Varanasi are present in person before this Court. They are here to explain how they charge-sheeted the applicants, contrary to the judgment of this Court dated 20.12.2018 passed in Writ - A No. 25669 of 2018. The Sector Officer has stated before the Court that they sought guidance of the State Government and candidly says that the guidance

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that they received was that they can go ahead with the investigation, and therefore, they have filed the charge-sheet.

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The stand taken by the officers that they filed a charge-sheet merely because they were permitted by the State Government to do so, is not tenable. Once the substratum of the crime, that is to say, the validity of the degree, which was earlier claimed to be fake, has been pronounced upon by this Court in Writ - A No. 25669 of 2018 and held to be genuine on the applicants' writ petition brought against the University, the State has no further right to prosecute the applicants for holding, possessing or using a degree that is fake. The allegation of the degree being fake stands totally effaced after the judgment of this Court in Writ - A No. 25669 of 2018. It is well settled that after a constitutional Court has declared an action, transaction, document, instrument or even a legislation void or invalid, there is no scope for any Executive Authority to act contrary to that declaration. There was nothing for the Police to investigate or file a charge-sheet in the matter. The impugned chargesheet and all proceedings emanating therefrom are therefore, without jurisdiction and have to be quashed as an abuse of process.

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This application is, consequently, allowed . The proceedings in Criminal Case No. 228292 of 2022, State vs. Vipin Kumar Sharma and others (arising out of Case Crime No. 79 of 2021) under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B I.P.C., Police Station Chetganj, District Varanasi, pending in the Court of the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi are hereby quashed .

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An entry shall be caused to be made in the G.D. of Police Station Chetganj, District Varanasi that all proceedings arising out Case Crime No. 79 of 2021 stand quashed, under orders of this Court. This part of the order shall be caused to be carried out in the records of the police station concerned by the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi.

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The personal presence of Dr. Krishna Gopal, the Sector Officer, CBCID

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Sector Office, Varanasi and Devendra Nath Upadhyay, Inspector, CBCID, Sector Varanasi is exempted .

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Let this order be forwarded to the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi through the learned Sessions Judge, Varanasi and the Station House Officer, Police Station Chetganj, District Varanasi through the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, by the Registrar (Compliance) within a week .

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Order Date :- 26.5.2023 I. Batabyal

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Digitally signed by :- ISHAN BATABYAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad

Vijay Kumar Mani Tripathi and 3 Others v. State of U.P. .and Another

Case brief

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Vijay Kumar Mani Tripathi and 3 Others v. State of U.P. .and Another

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