Sahukar and 2 Others Vs State of U.P.and Another — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Sahukar and 2 Others Vs State of U.P.and Another — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

Issue for consideration

Whether the cognizance/summoning order dated 06.05.2024, charge sheet no. 346 of 2023 dated 31.12.2023 and the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 536 of 2024 (State v. Sahukar and others, arising out of Case Crime No. 168 of 2014, Section 3, Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, 1984, P.S. Gonda, District Aligarh) ought to be quashed under Section 482 Cr.P.C.

Court's answer

The Court recorded that the FIR was registered on the Lekhpal's complaint, that investigation found no incriminating evidence and the police filed a closure report, and that the applicant came to be summoned on the protest petition filed by the complainant.

Ratio / Principle

No illegality or impropriety was noticed in the impugned order; the disputed questions of fact require to be tested during the trial.

Key takeaways

Consequently, no case for quashing the impugned proceedings was made out; the application under Section 482 Cr.P.C., being devoid of merit, was dismissed.ratio¶11

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Vinod Diwakar, J.; Order Date 18.2.2025; Neutral Citation 2025:AHC:23942) dismissed an application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. by Sahukar and two others seeking quashing of the cognizance/summoning order dated 06.05.2024, charge sheet no. 346 of 2023 dated 31.12.2023 and the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 536 of 2024 (State v. Sahukar and others), arising out of Case Crime No. 168 of 2014, Section 3, Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, 1984, P.S. Gonda, District Aligarh. The FIR, lodged on the complaint of the Lekhpal, alleged encroachment/removal of earth from Chak Road No. 190 (0.164 hectares) under the MNREGA Scheme; RTI information indicated the earthwork was on Chak Road No. 178 in Gram Panchayat Rudayan @ Tarapur. Investigation ended in a Final Report/closure report dated 06.09.2014, yet the applicants were summoned on the complainant's protest petition. The Court found no illegality or impropriety in the impugned order, held that the disputed questions of fact must be tested at trial, found no case for quashing, and dismissed the application as devoid of merit.

Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:23942

Court No. - 76

Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 22789 of 2024 Applicant :- Sahukar And 2 Others Opposite Party :- State Of U.P.And Another Counsel for Applicant :- Manoj Pathak Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

Hon'ble Vinod Diwakar,J.

Heard learned counsel for the applicants, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused material on record.

The instant application u/s 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed with the prayer to quash the cognizance/summoning order dated 06.05.2024, charge sheet no. 346 of 2023 dated 31.12.2023, as well as entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 536 of 2024, titled State v. Sahukar and others, arising out of Case Crime No.168 of 2014, under Section 3 of Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, 1984, P.S. Gonda, District Aligarh.

The learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case with an ulterior motive. According to the allegations made in the FIR, earthwork was carried out by the Gram Pradhan over 1/4th of the area of Chak Road No. 190, with a total area of 0.164 hectares, under the MNREGA Scheme. The measurement of the said earthwork was conducted by the Revenue Inspector and Lekhpal on 08.06.2013. However, the information, under the Right to Information Act, obtained from the Block Development Officer, Gonda, Aligarh, indicates that the earthwork was actually carried out on Chak Road No.178 under the MNREGA Scheme in Gram Panchayat Rudayan @ Tarapur. Furthermore, there is no record of any earthwork being conducted on Chak Road No. 190, nor any

estimate for such work was ever prepared. As such, the allegations of illegal encroachment and removal of earth on Chak Road No. 190 are entirely false and frivolous. Learned counsel further submits that after completing investigation, the Investigating Officer has filed Final Report on 06.09.2014.

Per contra , learned A.G.A. has opposed the application and submitted that a survey was conducted by the Revenue Inspector and the Lekhpal, during which it was found that the applicant had encroached upon the Chak road. The encroachment was removed thrice, despite that the applicant is continuing to encroach upon the said land.

After hearing the learned counsel for the applicant, the learned A.G.A. for the State, and having perused the material available on record, it is prima facie observed that the FIR was registered on the complaint of the Lekhpal. It is further noted that during the investigation, no incriminating evidence was found, therefore, the police filed a closure report. However, the applicant has been summoned based on the protest petition filed by the complainant. No illegality or impropriety has been noticed in the impugned order however the disputed questions of facts needs to be tested during the trial; therefore, no case for quashing the impugned proceedings has been made out.

The application u/s 482 Cr.P.C. is devoid of merit, and it is accordingly dismissed .

Order Date :- 18.2.2025 A. Tripathi

Justice Vinod Diwakar

Digitally signed by :- AKHILESH TRIPATHI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad