Telangana High Court
Mohammed Shareef Khan vs The State Of Telangana on 9 February, 2022
Author: B. Vijaysen Reddy
Bench: B. Vijaysen Reddy
HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE B. VIJAYSEN REDDY
WRIT PETITION No.2738 OF 2021
ORDER :
This writ petition is filed by the petitioner viz., Mohammed Shareef Khan aggrieved by the action of respondent No.4 - the Station House Officer, Begumpet Police Station, Begumpet, Hyderabad, in maintaining and continuing rowdy-sheet against him vide proceedings No.1086/RS-PER/ACP-BPT/2016 dated 08.07.2016 which is renewed annually till date him based on a solitary case without any valid grounds as illegal, arbitrary and in violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(d) and 21 of the Constitution of India.
2. Heard Sri P. Lakshma Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, and learned Assistant Government Pleader for Home appearing for respondent Nos.1 to 4, and perused the material on record.
3. It is submitted by the petitioner that respondent No.3 - the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Begumpet Division, North Zone, Hyderabad Commissionerate, Hyderabad, has passed the order dated 08-07-2016 according permission to respondent No.4 to open rowdy- sheet against the petitioner for his involvement in two crimes i.e., Crime No.398 of 2015 registered for the offences punishable under Sections 325, 449, 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short 'IPC') and Crime No.517 of 2015 registered for the offence 2 punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC on the file of respondent No.4 police station.
4. Respondent No.4 was directed to retain the rowdy-sheet against the petitioner till 31.12.2016. It is stated by the petitioner that Crime No.398 of 2015 relates to property dispute wherein he is accused No.2. The said crime was transferred to Central Crime Station and renumbered as FIR No.98 of 2016 and final report was filed on 07.09.2016 closing the case against the petitioner. Final report was accepted by the learned XII Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad vide docket order dated 04.09.2019 in R.C. No.68 of 2019 and the same was intimated to respondent No.4 police station vide letter dated 24.09.2020 closing the case against the petitioner.
5. Crime No.517 of 2015 was registered with respondent No.4 police station under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC wherein the petitioner is arraigned as accused No.1. The said crime was transferred to Central Crime Station and renumbered as Crime No.324 of 2015 by adding the offence punishable under Section 120B of IPC. The police filed charge sheet and the same was numbered as S.C. No.180 of 2017 and it is pending trial before the learned VII Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Nampally. 3
6. Crime No.120 of 2019 was registered with respondent No.4 police station for the offences punishable under Sections 120-B, 467, 468, 471 and 420 read with Section 34 of IPC and it was ended in compromise and quashed by this Court vide order dated 29.04.2019 in Criminal Petition No.1921 of 2019.
7. Respondent No.4 registered Crime No.222 of 2018 for the offence punishable under Section 107 of IPC binding over the petitioner for one year. Thereafter also, respondent No.4 continued registering crimes in 2019 and 2020 for the very same offence vide Crime Nos.373 of 2019 and 310 of 2020.
8. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that it is a settled law that no crime can be registered under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code 1973 (for short 'Cr.P.C.'). Further, the power to bind-over a person under Section 107 of Cr.P.C. is conferred only on the Executive Magistrate and the police have no power to pass bind over orders. On this ground, the petitioner challenged the First Information Reports registered against him under Section No.107 of Cr.P.C. vide Criminal Petition Nos.1033, 1034 and 4548 of 2020 and this Court vide orders dated 05.10.2020 and 30.09.2020, allowed the same quashing the F.I.Rs. Thus, according to the petitioner, except the crime in S.C. No.180 of 2017, no other crime is pending against him.
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9. Respondent No.3 - the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Begumpet Division, Hyderabad, filed counter. It is stated in paragraph No.3 of the counter that the petitioner is involved in the following cases:
"i) Crime No.398 of 2015 for the offences under Sections 325, 449, 506, 509 IPC, on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The same has been transferred to CCS and renumbered as Crime No.98 of 2016, and the same is in civil in nature, F.R.No:08/2016 on 07-09-2016.
ii) Crime No.517 of 2015 for the offences under Sections 302 R/w. 34 IPC., on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The same has been transferred to CCS and renumbered as Crime No.324 of 2015, and the same is pending for trial on the file of ACMM Nampally, Hyderabad vide S.C. No.180 of 2017.
iii) Crime No.257 of 2016 for the offences under Section 107 Cr.P.C., on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The Hon'ble Mandal Executive Magistrate bound over the petitioner for good behaviour on 28.07.2016.
iv) Crime No.249 of 2017 for the offences under Section 107 Cr.P.C., on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The Hon'ble Mandal Executive Magistrate bound over the petitioner for good behaviour on 21.08.2017.
v) Crime No.222 of 2018 for the offences under Section 107 Cr.P.C. on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The Hon'ble Mandal Executive Magistrate bound over the petitioner for good behaviour on 17.07.2017.
vi) Crime No.373 of 2019 for the offences under Section 107 Cr.P.C., on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The Hon'ble 5 Mandal Executive Magistrate bound over the petitioner for good behaviour on 21.08.2019.
vii) Crime No.310 of 2020 for the offences under Section 107 Cr.P.C., on the file of Begumpet Police Station. The Hon'ble Mandal Executive Magistrate bound over the petitioner for good behaviour on 09.09.2020."
It is thus stated in the counter that in view of the involvement of the petitioner in the above criminal cases, it is incumbent on the part of the police to open rowdy-sheet and keep a watch on the activities of the petitioner and curtail his unlawful activities.
10. As seen from the above, Crime No.398 of 2015 was closed as civil in nature. Crime Nos.222 of 2018, 373 of 2019 and 310 of 2020 were quashed by this Court. So far as Crime Nos.257 of 2016 and 249 of 2017 are concerned, the period for which the petitioner was bound-over, was completed long back. Thus, as on date, there is only one case pending against the petitioner. Hence, continuation of rowdy-sheet against the petitioner based on a solitary crime as held by this Court in Shahbaz Nawaz @ Shahbaz v. State of Telangana1.
11. Therefore, the writ petition is allowed quashing the rowdy- sheet against the petitioner passed by respondent No.3 vide order No.1086/RS-PER/ACP-BPT/2016 dated 08.07.2016. No order as to costs.
1 2020 SCC Online TS 2039 6 As a sequel thereto, miscellaneous applications, if any, pending stand closed.
______________________ B. VIJAYSEN REDDY, J February 9, 2022.
PV