Gujarat High Court
Yogeshbhai Narendrabhai Joshi vs State Of Gujarat on 27 February, 2023
Author: Samir J. Dave
Bench: Samir J. Dave
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/4174/2023 ORDER DATED: 27/02/2023
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 4174 of 2023
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YOGESHBHAI NARENDRABHAI JOSHI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR MRUNAL R DHOLARIA(11915) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR. BHAUMIK DHOLARIYA(7009) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR MANAN MEHTA, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SAMIR J. DAVE
Date : 27/02/2023
ORAL ORDER
1. By way of this application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as "the Code"), the applicant has prayed for quashing and setting aside of FIR being I-C.R.No.106 of 2016 dated 08/04/2016 registered with Raopura Police Station, District Vadodara City, for the offence under Sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code as well as other consequential proceedings arising therefrom.
2. Learned advocate for the applicants submitted that the role of the present applicant who is arrayed as an accused no.4 in the aforesaid FIR is of notarizing the documents being affidavit and he has no direct role to play in the offence alleged. Further, it is submitted that all the allegations are made against original accused no.3 who is advocate against Page 1 of 4 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 22:14:54 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/4174/2023 ORDER DATED: 27/02/2023 undefined whom the FIR is quashed by this Court vide order dated 27/10/2021 passed in Special Criminal Application No.2424 of 2016 which has been confimed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated 23/09/2022 passed in Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.3069 of 2022.
3. Heard learned advocate for the applicants and learned APP for the respondent-State.
4. It appears from the allegations made in the impugned FIR that the present applicant accused has notarized the forged documents without proper verification and thereby committed offence alleged in the FIR. From the version of the FIR, it clearly transpires that the property which is owned by the present complainant and one of the accused is sold by the accused persons by making forged documents and notarizing them without acknowledging the complainant about the same wherein the complainant was one of the partner in the property in question.
5. In a series of decisions, the Apex Court has explained the contours of the power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. In State of Haryana V. Bhajan Lal and others, AIR 1992 SC 604, in the backdrop of interpretation of various relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and of the principles of law relating to the exercise of extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the Apex Court gave the following categories of cases, by way of illustrations, wherein such power could be exercised, either to Page 2 of 4 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 22:14:54 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/4174/2023 ORDER DATED: 27/02/2023 undefined prevent abuse of the process of the Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, making it clear that it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly-defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases, wherein such power should be exercised:
"(a) where the allegations made in the First Information Report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused;
(b) where the allegations in the First Information Report and other materials, if any, accompanying the F.I.R. do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155(2) of the Code;
(c) where the uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and make out a case against the accused;
(d) where the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code;
(e) where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused;
(f) where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the Page 3 of 4 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 22:14:54 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/4174/2023 ORDER DATED: 27/02/2023 undefined institution and continuance of the proceedings and / or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party;
(g) where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge."
6. Considering the allegations made in the impugned FIR, prima facie, the involvement of the applicant in the alleged offence could not be ruled out. Thus, in view of the principle laid down in the aforesaid judgment and the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court does not find this to be a fit case where discretion under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. could be exercised in favour of the applicant.
7. For the foregoing reasons, the present petition is rejected.
(SAMIR J. DAVE,J) ILA Page 4 of 4 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 22:14:54 IST 2023