Ashutosh Sharma and Others Vs State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko. and Others

2. The present writ petition has been filed with a prayer to issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari for quashing the first information report dated 23.12.2023 at Case Crime No.0248 of 2023 under Sections 406, 409, 420, 504, 506 IPC at Police Station Vikas Nagar, District Lucknow and with a further prayer to stay the arrest of the petitioners.

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3. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that all the petitioners are employees of a company by the name of NOVENA Enterprises Private Limited, whose Directors are Shantanu Shrivastava, Subhash Chand Bose and Madhuri Srivastava. It has been submitted that the allegation is mainly levelled against the Directors that they have fooled several businessmen including the informant Saurabh Agrawal into believing that they will make available branded goods manufactured by other companies at very reasonable rates to such businessmen and also took advance money. When the said small and medium scale businessmen tried to persuade the Directors of the company to return their money as no goods have been supplied to them, they threatened the businessmen and thereafter switched off their phones.

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4. It has been further submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that the petitioners are mere employees and they have no role in any fraudulent activities as alleged to have been carried out by the Directors of NOVENA Enterprises Private Limited.

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5. This Court, having gone through the impugned FIR, prima facie finds that the petitioners are entitled

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CRLP No. 343 of 2024

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to interim protection as they are employees only.

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6. Issue notice to respondent no. 3, returnable at an early date.

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7. Steps be taken within a week.

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8. Let a counter affidavit be filed within four weeks. Rejoinder affidavit, if any, may be filed within two weeks thereafter.

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9. List this case on 28th February, 2024.

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10. Till the next date of listing or till submission of police report under Section 173 (2) Cr.P.C., if any, before the competent Court, whichever is earlier, the arrest of the petitioners, namely, Ashutosh Sharma, Mahvish Zaidi, Megha Pandey, Chetan Gulati, Kasif Siddiqui adn Ambesh Mishra, in pursuance of the impugned F.I.R. shall remain stayed, of course subject to the restraint that the petitioners shall fully cooperate with the investigation and shall appear as and when called upon to assist in the investigation.”

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Learned AGA on the basis of instructions dated 31.10.2025 received from Sri Ram Dhiraj Yadav, SI/IO, P.S. Vikas Nagar, District Lucknow, a copy of which has been produced before this Court and taken on record, submits that Charge Sheet dated 1.10.2025 was forwarded against all the acccused including the petitioners as, prima facie , the allegations against them have been found proved on the basis of material and evidence collected by the Investigating Officer. The charge sheet was forwarded to the supervising officer for examining the same who shall forward the same to the court concerned.

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None has appeared on behalf of the petitioners to controvert the aforesaid submission. Since the allegations against the petitioners alongwith other accused persons have been found, prima facie , proved on the basis of evidence and material collected during investigation and considering the same charge sheet has been forwarded by the investigating officer and none is present on behalf of the petitioners to controvert the same, it appears that the petitioners are not interested in pursuing the matter.

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Even otherwise, once the charge sheet has been forwarded, the petitioners has a remedy to approach the supervisory officer or the court concerned, as the case may be, raising their grievance, which may be considered in accordance with law expeditiously.

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