Monu @ Rajesh Vs State of Up and Another — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Monu @ Rajesh Vs State of Up and Another — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Quashing of the chargesheet dated 05.07.2020, cognizance order dated 07.09.2020 and order dated 01.08.2023 passed in Special Session Trial No.117 of 2020, arising out of Case Crime No.956 of 2019 under Section 2/3 of The U.P. Gangster & Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, along with the entire proceedings of the said case, confined to the applicant; liberty preserved to the authorities to initiate fresh proceedings in respect of any other case.

Issue for consideration

Whether the chargesheet, cognizance order and further proceedings under the U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act can sustain where the applicant has already been acquitted in the solitary base case forming the gang chart.

Court's answer

Once the proceedings of the base cases depicted in the gang chart are quashed or the accused has been acquitted therein, the proceedings under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act are liable to be quashed.

Ratio / Principle

Since the applicant has already been acquitted in the base case, the chargesheet dated 05.07.2020, the cognizance order dated 07.09.2020 and the order dated 01.08.2023 passed in Special Session Trial No.117 of 2020 (arising out of Case Crime No.956 of 2019 under Section 2/3 of the U.P. Gangster & Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986), along with the entire proceedings of the said case, stand quashed, but only in pursuance of the applicant.

Key takeaways

The quashing order shall not preclude the authorities concerned from initiating fresh proceedings against the applicant in pursuance of any other case.ratio¶13

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Gangster Act — quashing of proceedings upon acquittal in base case. The applicant (Monu @ Rajesh) filed an application under Section 482 seeking quashing of the chargesheet dated 05.07.2020, cognizance order dated 07.09.2020 and order dated 01.08.2023 passed in Special Session Trial No.117 of 2020, arising out of Case Crime No.956 of 2019 under Section 2/3 of The U.P. Gangster & Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, Police Station Murad Nagar, District Ghaziabad. The Gangster Act proceeding rested on a solitary base case (Case Crime No.530 of 2019, Sections 307, 452, 506 IPC) in which the applicant stood acquitted by the learned Sessions Judge, Ghaziabad, vide order dated 05.01.2023; the State did not dispute the acquittal. Relying on Farhana (Apex Court) and earlier decisions of the Allahabad High Court (Salim @ Piyaoo; Jai Prakash; Sartaj), the Court held that once the base cases depicted in the gang chart are quashed or the accused acquitted, proceedings under the Gangsters Act are liable to be quashed. The chargesheet, cognizance order, trial-court order and entire proceedings were quashed only in pursuance of the applicant, with liberty to the authorities to initiate fresh proceedings in respect of any other case. Application allowed.

Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:68211

Court No. - 74

Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 27482 of 2024

Applicant :- Monu @ Rajesh Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Vinay Kumar Singh Chandel Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

Hon'ble Saurabh Srivastava,J.

Heard learned counsel for applicant and learned A.G.A. on behalf of the State.

This application has been preferred for quashing the chargesheet dated 05.07.2020 along with cognizance order dated 07.09.2020 as well as order dated 01.08.2023 passed in Special Session Trial No.117 of 2020 (State Vs. Rahul Choudhary and others), arising out of Case Crime No.956 of 2019, under Section 2/3 of The U.P. Gangster & Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, Police Station Murad Nagar, District Ghaziabad as well as entire proceedings of the said case, pending in the Court of learned Additional District and Sessions Judge/Special Judge (Gangster Act), Ghaziabad.

Learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the proceeding under the Gangster Act has been initiated against applicant on the basis of solitary case bearing Case Crime No.530 of 2019, under Section 307, 452, 506 I.P.C., Police Station Murad Nagar, District Ghaziabad, wherein vide order dated 05.01.2023 passed by learned Sessions Judge, Ghaziabad, applicant has already been acquitted. Learned counsel for applicant further submitted that once in the base case, proceeding has already been quashed, the instant proceeding under the Gangster Act cannot be drawn. In support of his submission, learned counsel for applicant has placed reliance on the judgement passed by the Apex Court in Farhana vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and others [2024 0 INSC 118] and stated that once the base case is already quashed, the impugned proceeding cannot go on under the Gangster Act and the entire process is unsustainable and liable to be set aside.

Per contra, learned A.G.A. vehemently opposed the prayer sought through the instant applicant but did not dispute the fact that applicant has already been acquitted in the base case.

After having the rival contentions raised by learned counsel for parties, it is crystal clear that base case depicted in the gang chart has already been quashed and once the proceedings of the base cases depicted in the gang chart are quashed or the accused has been acquitted, the proceedings under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act are liable to be quashed [ Ref: Farhana (supra) rendered by Hon'ble the Apex Court, Salim @ Piyaoo Vs. State of U.P. rendered by this Court in Criminal Revision No. 2541 of 2011, Jai Prakash and others Vs. State of U.P. rendered by this Court in Criminal Revision No. 3309 of 2008 and Sartaj Vs. State of U.P. rendered by this Court in Appl. U/S 482 No.11645 of 2007] .

In wake of the preceding discussion, since applicant has already been acquitted in the base case, chargesheet dated 05.07.2020 along with cognizance order dated 07.09.2020 as well as order dated 01.08.2023 passed in Special Session Trial No.117 of 2020 (State Vs. Rahul Choudhary and others), arising out of Case Crime No.956 of 2019, under Section 2/3 of The U.P. Gangster & Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, Police Station Murad Nagar, District Ghaziabad as well as entire proceedings of the said case, pending in the Court of learned Additional District and Sessions Judge/Special Judge (Gangster Act), Ghaziabad, are hereby quashed only in pursuance of applicant herein.

The present application is, accordingly, allowed .

However, it is made clear that this order shall not preclude the authorities concerned to initiate fresh proceedings in pursuance of any other case against the applicant.

Order Date :- 29.4.2025 Vivek Kr.

Digitally signed by :- VIVEK KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad