Gujarat High Court
Pravinchandra @ Pravinbhai Adkhabhai ... vs State Of Gujarat & 3 on 13 January, 2016
Author: Sonia Gokani
Bench: Sonia Gokani
C/SCA/608/2016 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION No. 608 of 2016
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PRAVINCHANDRA @ PRAVINBHAI ADKHABHAI SOLANKI....Petitioner(s)
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & 3....Respondent(s)
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Appearance:
MR DA SANKHESARA, ADVOCATE for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
ADVANCE COPY SERVED TO GP/PP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM: HONOURABLE Ms. JUSTICE SONIA
GOKANI
13th January 2016
ORAL ORDER
Petitioner has challenged order of his suspension essentially on the ground that the show cause notice issued to him does not have reference of FIR No. I-77 of 2015 registered with Vadali Police Station, but has reference of FIR No. 73 of 2015, which too is registered in the said Police Station. According to him, no order of suspension could be straighway passed without issuance of show cause notice.
Learned advocate appearing for the petitioner has urged fervently that the complainant who had approached the concerned Police Station had a chequered history of Page 1 of 5 HC-NIC Page 1 of 5 Created On Tue Jan 19 00:58:27 IST 2016 C/SCA/608/2016 ORDER repetitive complaints and settling the same, and therefore, the petitioner needed to inquire into the matter rather than straightway registering the complaint. As averred by the petitioner, he was orally asked to explain the delay in registering the FIR No.77 of 2015 and despite the petitioner seeking time to collect information, he was left with no option. He is serving as a Head Constable and was assigned beat area of Vadali Police Station. His functions as a Head Constable are maintenance of law and order situation, crime prevention and detection, surveillance and intelligence. In absence of superior officers like ASI, SI etc., a Head Constable would function as a Station House Officer and take steps for registering the complaints and investigate the cases reported under his charge. It is the say of the petitioner that if there is doubt about credibility and correctness of the information, the police authority has discretion to hold preliminary inquiry, considering the facts and circumstances and if there is prima facie case for investigation, FIR would be registered.
Learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Antani Page 2 of 5 HC-NIC Page 2 of 5 Created On Tue Jan 19 00:58:27 IST 2016 C/SCA/608/2016 ORDER has submitted that the petitioner shall get all the opportunities once the charges are levelled against him in the departmental proceedings to explain suspension, as he has challenged the order of his suspension without any basis. According to him, issuance of the chargesheet is not sine quo none before a person is suspended.
Learned advocate Mr. Sankesara appearing for the petitioner submits that it is being an order which generates serious consequences. Show cause notice ought to have been issued even with reference to I-77 of 2015 registered with Vadali Police Station. It is a settled law that once the complainant approaches the Police and if a cognizable offence is made out, there would be no requirement of holding an inquiry. He has sought to place reliance upon decisions of this Court rendered in case of Sondabhai Sarabhai [Since Deceased through Heirs] versus State of Gujarat [Special Civil Application No. 10593 of 2011 :: Decided on 24th December 2012] and in case of Dashrathlal Ishwarlal Patel v. State of Gujarat [Special Civil Application No. 7338 of 2012 ::
Decided on 5th March 2013].
Page 3 of 5 HC-NIC Page 3 of 5 Created On Tue Jan 19 00:58:27 IST 2016 C/SCA/608/2016 ORDER The Apex Court in case of Lalita Kumar v.
Government of Uttar Pradesh & Ors., reported in (2014) 2 SCC 1 has held that the registration of FIR is mandatory under section 154, if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation. However, where information received does not disclose a cognizable offence, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted to ascertain whether cognizable offence is disclosed or not.
The scope of preliminary inquiry even when permissible in such limited classes of cases is not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information received but only to ascertain whether the information reveals any cognizable offence or not.
The order of suspension has come in wake of non compliance of this basic fundamental requirement of law. No challenge therefore is sustainable much less on the ground that the show cause notice has no reference to the CR No. 177 of 2015.
Petition being devoid of any merit, deserves no entertainment. Hence, writ petition fails and the same is Page 4 of 5 HC-NIC Page 4 of 5 Created On Tue Jan 19 00:58:27 IST 2016 C/SCA/608/2016 ORDER dismissed with no order as to costs.
{Ms. Sonia Gokani, J.} Prakash* Page 5 of 5 HC-NIC Page 5 of 5 Created On Tue Jan 19 00:58:27 IST 2016