High Court at Jodhpur dismissed two criminal writ petitions seeking quashing of an FIR registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and IPC. The Court found a prima facie case based on the case diary and alleged defamation of the Meghwal community via Facebook posts.
Petitions for quashing of FIR No.89/2018 and stay petitions dismissed.
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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR
S.B. Criminal Writs No. 88 / 2018
Ashok Purohit S/o Shri Khumaram, Aged About 27 Years, By Caste Purohit R/o Golasan PS Sanchore, District- Jalore.
----Petitioner
Versus
----Respondents
Connected With
S.B. Criminal Writs No. 89 / 2018
Ashok Purohit S/o Shri Khumaram, By Caste Purohit R/o Golasan PS Sanchore, District- Jalore.
----Petitioner
Versus
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr Moti Singh
For Respondent(s) : Mr Vikram Rajpurohit
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIJAY BISHNOI
Judgment / Order
(2 of 3)
[CRLW-88/2018]
12/04/2018
The petitioner has preferred both these criminal writ petitions essentially with a prayer for quashing of FIR No.89/2018 lodged at Police Station, Sanchore at the instance of respondent No.4, who has complained that the petitioner on his Facebook Page has posted some objectionable messages, which hurt the feeling of the people of Meghwal Community.
It is alleged in the FIR that the petitioner has defamed the whole Meghwal Community by making casteist remarks and also posted some objectionable messages about the women of the said community.
The Police have registered the impugned FIR against the petitioner for the offence punishable under Section 3(1)(u) of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short 'the Act of 1989' hereinafter) and under Section 506 IPC.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that as a matter of fact the petitioner did not send the alleged objectionable message to the respondent No.4, therefore, it cannot be said that the petitioner has committed any offence as mentioned in the impugned FIR.
In S.B.Cr. Writ Petition No.88/2018, this Court vide order dated 04.04.2018 called for the case diary.
Having gone through the allegations levelled in the impugned FIR and having carefully scrutinized the case diary,
(3 of 3)
[CRLW-88/2018]
wherein the police collected details of the messages/posts published by the petitioner on his Facebook Page, I find that prima facie case under section 3(1)(u) of the Act of 1989 and Section 506 IPC is made out, hence, no interference is called for in these criminal writ petitions.
Accordingly, both these petitions are dismissed.
Stay petitions also stand dismissed.
(VIJAY BISHNOI)J.
m.asif/PS
2 issues framed by the court
Whether prima facie case is made out under Section 3(1)(u) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Section 506 IPC regarding objectionable messages posted on Facebook.
Whether the Criminal Writ Petitions seeking quashing of the FIR should be allowed.
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Ashok Purohit
State of Rajasthan Through Secretary, Department of Home Affairs
Director General of Police, Jaipur
Station House Officer, Police Station, Sanchore
Sh. Mahendra Singh
VIJAY BISHNOI
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
