Milind Sakharam Mundekar Vs State of Maharashtra and Anr. — Bombay HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Milind Sakharam Mundekar Vs State of Maharashtra and Anr. — Bombay HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition disposed of with directions: (i) District Superintendent of Police, Ratnagiri (Mr. Nitin Bagate) to issue a show cause notice to PI Vivek Ahire and, if he has no justifiable reason to disobey the Magistrate's order, initiate disciplinary proceedings per service law; (ii) present SHO, Dapoli Police Station, to record the Petitioner's supplementary statement regarding his complaint dated 20-06-2025 and the alleged tampering of Gavhe Gram Panchayat records within 7 days; (iii) investigation to be expedited and conducted strictly per due procedure, with liberty to the Petitioner to approach the appropriate forum against laxity.

Issue for consideration

Whether the SHO of Dapoli Police Station (Police Inspector Shri Vivek Ahire) disobeyed the Orders of the learned Magistrate passed under Section 156(3) CrPC and declined to register the FIR sought by the Petitioner. +2 more

Court's answer

The Court found that PI Shri Vivek Ahire, SHO of Dapoli Police Station (Police Inspector from 2022 till 30/06/2025), disobeyed the learned Magistrate's order under Section 156(3) CrPC and the FIR was not registered despite the order being communicated on 27-09-2023, reminders and a show cause notice; the dates and sequence of events were undisputed even by the said SHO, and the FIR came to be registered only on 11-07-2025 after the Petitioner filed this Petition.

Ratio / Principle

The Court directed the District Superintendent of Police, Ratnagiri (Mr. Nitin Bagate) to follow the due process laid down in law and issue a show cause notice to Police Inspector Mr. Vivek Ahire, and thereafter, if he finds that Mr. Ahire has no justifiable reason to disobey the order of the learned Magistrate, to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the said officer strictly in accordance with the procedure laid down in service law.

Key takeaways

The Court clarified that the due procedure should be followed and appropriate steps as the District Superintendent of Police may deem fit would be initiated; Shri Ahire is presently posted at Khed Police Station, District Ratnagiri.ratio¶¶46
The Court directed the present SHO of Dapoli Police Station to record the supplementary statement of the Petitioner in the light of his complaint dated 20-06-2025 and his contention that the records of Gavhe's Gram Panchayat have been tampered with, within a period of 7 days.ratio¶¶47

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court (Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction), Writ Petition No. 3613 of 2025, decided 4 August 2025 (Ravindra V. Ghuge & Gautam A. Ankhad, JJ.) - Milind Sakharam Mundekar v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. The Petitioner's Criminal Misc. Application No.133/2023 under Section 156(3) CrPC led the learned JMFC, Dapoli to pass an Order on 8 September 2023 directing the SHO to register an FIR, investigate and file a charge-sheet under Section 173(8) CrPC; the Order was communicated to the SHO on 27 September 2023, yet PI Shri Vivek Ahire, SHO of Dapoli Police Station (Police Inspector from 2022 till 30/06/2025), did not register the FIR despite reminders (Exhibits 15 and 18), an application for show cause notice (Exhibit 19) and a show cause notice issued on 24 January 2025, replying that a G.R. dated 04/01/2017 required consideration by the CEO of the Zilla Parishad; the FIR was registered only on 11 July 2025, after this Petition was filed. The Court recorded that the dates and sequence of events were undisputed even by the said SHO, expressed concern whether the evidence of the last three years stood destroyed or the SHO's conduct helped the accused tamper with evidence (including alleged tampering of Gavhe Gram Panchayat records and a complaint dated 20 June 2025 of abuse and threats to withdraw the case), and disposed of the Petition with directions: (i) the District Superintendent of Police, Ratnagiri (Mr. Nitin Bagate) to issue a show cause notice to PI Vivek Ahire and, absent a justifiable reason for disobeying the Magistrate's order, initiate disciplinary proceedings strictly per service law; (ii) the present SHO, Dapoli, to record the Petitioner's supplementary statement on the 20 June 2025 complaint and the alleged record tampering within 7 days; and (iii) the investigation to be expedited strictly per due procedure, with liberty to the Petitioner to approach the appropriate forum against any laxity.