Allowed¶43

Jagadeesan v. The State Rep by

Madras HC7 Jul 2026CRL OP/17431/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Quashing of COVID-19 lockdown-violation prosecution; protest without police permission held lawful democratic expression; FIR/final report impermissible without prior private complaint before jurisdictional Magistrate for COVID-19 regulation offences; S. 528 BNSS Criminal Original Petition; Kuniamuthur Police Station, Coimbatore City; Judicial Magistrate-VII, Coimbatore; CC.No.2229 of 2023; abuse of process; disposed at admission stage without notice to second respondent (SI Ganesh Kumar); decided 07-07-2026 by Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy.

What did the court decide?

Criminal Original Petition allowed; impugned proceedings in CC.No.2229 of 2023 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate-VII, Coimbatore quashed; connected miscellaneous petitions closed. ¶43

Jagadeesan Vs The State Rep by — Madras HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

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CRL.O.P.No.17431 of 2026

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

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DATED: 07-07-2026

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CORAM:

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THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY

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CRL.O.P.No.17431 of 2026 and CRL.MP.Nos.11618 & 11619 of 2026

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Jagadeesan

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Vignesh K

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Nachimuthu

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Prasanth

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Arun P

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Ramesh

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Mohanambal

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Rameshkumar J

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Kalai Selvi

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..Petitioners

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Vs.

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The State Rep. by The Special Sub Inspector of Police, Kuniamuthur Police Station, Coimbatore City.

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Ganesh Kumar, Sub Inspector of Police

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..Respondents

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__________ Page1 of 6

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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CRL.O.P.No.17431 of 2026

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Prayer:

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Prayer: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 528 of BNSS, praying to call for the records relating to the impugned proceedings in CC.No.2229 of 2023 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate-VII, Coimbatore and quash the same.

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For Petitioners: Mr.L.Sree Ram For Respondents: Mr.M.Mohamed Riyaz, (for R1) Government Advocate (Crl. Side)

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ORDER

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This Criminal Original Petition has been filed seeking to quash the impugned proceedings in CC.No.2229 of 2023 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate-VII, Coimbatore.

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2. The prayer sought for in this Criminal Original Petition is innocuous in nature, and as such, this petition is taken up for disposal at the admission stage itself, without ordering notice to the second respondent.

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3. According to the final report dated 01.02.2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the petitioners joined together and staged a protest

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__________ Page2 of 6

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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CRL.O.P.No.17431 of 2026

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without obtaining formal prior permission to express dissent against certain actions involving the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, leading to the registration of the present case.

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4. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and the learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) appearing for the first respondent/Police.

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5. Upon a careful perusal of the records, this Court finds that for offences relating to the non-adherence of COVID-19 regulations, a First Information Report (FIR) and a subsequent final report cannot be directly filed without a private complaint being preferred before the jurisdictional Court as required under law.

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6. Secondly, considering the manner in which the protest was staged, this Court is of the considered view that the agitation was nothing but a lawful exercise of the democratic rights of the petitioners and would not amount to a criminal offences as alleged in the FIR and the final report. Under such circumstances, allowing the prosecution to continue would

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Page3 of 6

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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CRL.O.P.No.17431 of 2026

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amount to an abuse of the process of Court. Accordingly, this petition

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deserves to be allowed.

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7. In view of the above, this Criminal Original Petition stands allowed and the impugned proceedings in CC.No.2229 of 2023 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate-VII, Coimbatore, is hereby quashed. Connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.

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07-07-2026

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Neutral Citation: Yes/No

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Sni

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__________ Page4 of 6

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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CRL.O.P.No.17431 of 2026