A complaint alleged the petitioner abused and threatened the complainant with reference to his caste and attempted to run him over. The High Court found a one-day unexplained delay in lodging the FIR and vague, verbatim witness statements recorded later, held continuation would be abuse of process, allowed the petition, and quashed the proceedings.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 19TH DAY OF MARCH, 2024 BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 2683 OF 2022
BETWEEN:
SYED MUFEEZ S/O SYED AMEERSAB AGED ABOUT 41 YEARS R/AT HOUSING BOARD KHUSHALNAGARA EXTN SAKLESHPURA TOWN HASSAN, KARNATAKA 573 134.
…PETITIONER
(BY SRI. SIRAJUDDIN AHMED, ADVOCATE)
AND:
Digitally signed by B K MAHENDRAKUMAR Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
…RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. HARISH GANAPATHY, HCGP FOR R1; SRI. SUMANTH L BHARADWAJ, ADVOCATE FOR R2)
THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S.482 CR.P.C., BY THE ADVOCATE FOR THE PETITIONER PRAYING TO QUASH THE PROCEEDINGS IN SPL.C.NO.182/2020 ARISING OUT OF FIR IN CR.NO.129/2020 OF SAKALESHPURA TOWN P.S. FOR THE OFFENCE P/U/S 504,506 OF IPC AND SEC.3(1)(r)(s) OF SC/ST (POA) ACT PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE COURT OF ADDL.DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE, HASSAN.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR DICTATING ORDERS, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
NC: 2024:KHC:11343 CRL.P No. 2683 of 2022
ORDER
Respondent No. 2 lodged the first information with respondent No. 1, stating that the petitioner-accused, a Corporator, had been granted a sum of Rs.15 crores for the construction of houses for homeless individuals. The petitioner, a former President of the Municipal Council, and his wife, the current Councilor, allegedly obtained four houses through deception, misusing the funds to construct a house.
NC: 2024:KHC:11343 CRL.P No. 2683 of 2022
regarding the misappropriation of funds. The police subsequently submitted a charge sheet to the learned Sessions Court for the aforementioned offenses.
NC: 2024:KHC:11343 CRL.P No. 2683 of 2022
May 27, 2020, at about 9:00 p.m. No explanation is provided for the one-day delay in filing the FIR. While a one-day delay may not be fatal to the case, given the circumstances, it suggests that the FIR may have been filed as an afterthought to falsely implicate the petitioner.
ORDER
i) Petition is allowed .
ii) The impugned proceedings in Spl.C.No.182/2020, pending on the file of the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Hassan, is hereby quashed.
Sd/JUDGE
PN, List No.: 1 Sl No.: 16
1 issue framed by the court
Whether criminal proceedings for caste-based abuse under Sections 504, 506 IPC and Section 3(1)(r)(s) SC/ST (POA) Act should be quashed as an abuse of process given FIR delay and vague witness stateme
4 provisions across 3 enactments
Syed Mufeez
State of Karnataka by SHO Sakleshpura Town P.S., Hassan
Dharmappa H P
Hemant Chandangoudar
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
