Karnataka High Court
Chandrakant vs The State & Anr on 15 February, 2019
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
KALABURAGI BENCH
DATED THIS THE 15TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2019
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE P.G.M.PATIL
CRIMINAL PETITION NO.201353/2018
BETWEEN:
Chandrakant S/o Yeshwantrao Dolle,
Age: 54 years, Occ: Asst. NEKSTRC,
R/o Dhuttargaon,
Tq:Aland Dist: Kalaburagi,
Presently at Mahalaxmi Nilya,
Plot No.25, Santosh Colony,
Aland Road, Kalaburgi-585102.
... Petitioner
(By Sri Shivanand Patil, Advocate)
AND:
1. The State
Through Brahampur P.S.
Represented by the
Spl. Public Prosecutor,
High Court, Kalaburagi-585101.
2. The State Through
Dy. Suptd. Of Police,
Civil Rights Enforcement Cell,
Kalaburagi-585101.
... Respondents
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This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of
Cr.P.C, praying to allow the petition and quash the FIR in
Cr.No.0184/2018 (FIR No.1426/2018) of the Brahampur
Police Station for offence punishable u/s 196, 198 and 420
of IPC pending on the file of IVth Addl. Civil Judge & JMFC
Kalaburagi as per Annexure-A to this petition and also grant
such other reliefs as the Hon'ble Court deems fit in the facts
and circumstance of the case, in the interest of justice and
equity.
This petition having been heard on 07.02.2019 and
reserved and coming on for pronouncement of order this day,
delivered the following:
ORDER
This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C and petitioner sought for quashing of the entire proceedings registered against him in Crime No. 0184/2018 (FIR No.1426/2018) of the Brahampur Police Station for the offence punishable under Sections 196, 198 & 420 of IPC pending on the file of IV Addl. Civil Judge & JMFC Kalaburagi.
2. The brief facts of the case leading to this petition are as follows:
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One Smt. Shantabai Mahila PSI of the CRE cell Kalaburagi made a complaint alleging that one Devaraj S. Chouri has alleged that the petitioner serving as Asst. in NEKSRTC, Kalaburagi has obtained a false certificate as belonging to Bogar caste and secured employment and so made a complaint to the ADGP CRE cell Bengalore and sought for investigation in the matter. The said office directed for a thorough investigation and accordingly the Officer of Deputy Suptd. Of Police CRE cell conducted an enquiry and found that the petitioner belongs to Jain community and has obtained a false certificate dated 14.10.1985 as belonging to Bogar from the Revenue Officer City Municipal Corporation andon the basis of the same has secured employment with the NEKSRTC and thereby he cheated the Govt. and such a enquiry report was sent to the Addl. Director of Police CRE cell who in turn sends the same to the Caste Verification Committee Kalaburagi for their opinion. The Deputy Commissioner and Adyaksha of the Caste 4 Verification Committee held that the certificate is false and directed to Revenue Officer City Municipal Corporation to cancel the same and accordingly the same was cancelled by the order dated 13.08.2018 of the Commissioner City Municipal Corporation. Thus the Addl. Director of Police directed for filing of a criminal case. It is alleged that the petitioner by securing a false certificate and gaining an employment on such false certificate has denied the benefits to the deserving one and also cheated the Govt. and has thus committed a crime and hence requires the respondent- police to register a case for the offence under Section 196, 198 & 420 of IPC. On the basis of the said complaint, the respondent-police have registered the FIR against the petitioner in Crime No.0184/2018.
3. The petitioner has further stated that the FIR and compliant resulting in penal proceedings on the basis of a police report is against law as being one 5 without jurisdiction and amounts to abuse of process of law and deserves to be quashed. The filing of the case is due to the personal enmity between the petitioner and one Devaraj and the process of law in connivance with the CRE cell and other offices is misused and abused. Aggrieved by the order of Deputy Commissioner and Adyaksha District Caste Verification Committee, the petitioner had filed appeal before the Commissioner and the appellate authority, Bangalore who by order dated 15.10.2018 allowed the appeal and the matter was remanded to the authority below. The petitioner belongs to Bogar caste which is part of Jain religion. The petitioner has not secured employment under any category quota, but has secured the employment under General Quota. Thus even otherwise, there is no benefit availed by the petitioner on the basis of the caste certificate. Respondent No.2 or its office had no authority in law to make any enquiry on the basis of the alleged complaint by one Devaraj. The class of persons 6 who can call in question the correctness or otherwise of the caste certificate issued to anybody is limited under section 4 of the Karnataka SC, ST & other Backward classes (Reservation of appointments etc) Act 1990. Any Tom, Dick & Harry cannot call in question the caste certificate of the petitioner. Thus entertaining the alleged complaint of the said Devaraj and the consequent investigation is illegal and vitiated. Respondent No.2 has not followed Rule 7 and 7A of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments Etc.) (Amendment ) Rules 1993. As the matter is still pending consideration in the light of the order of the Appellate Authority, initiation of the proceedings is premature and in gross violation of the orders of the High Court and the Supreme Court and thus the whole of the criminal proceeding deserves to be quashed in entirety.
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4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent No.1-State.
5. Respondent No.2 though served with notice has remained absent and un represented.
6. It is the case of the prosecution that on the complaint of one Devaraj S. Chouri that the petitioner has secured employment on the basis of a false caste certificate, the enquiry was initiated and ultimately it was found that the petitioner has obtained a false certificate dated 14.10.1985 as belonging to Bogar community and that he has secured employment with the NEKSRTC on the basis of the said certificate, thereby he cheated the Government and deprived the other persons from claiming the benefit under the said caste. The enquiry report was sent to the Addl. Director of Police CRE cell, who in term referred the same to the District Caste Verification Committee, Kalaburagi for 8 their opinion. The Deputy Commissioner as Chairman of the Caste Verification Committee held that certificate is false and accordingly directed the Revenue Officer City Municipal Corporation to cancel the same and accordingly it was cancelled. On these allegations, the complaint was lodged against the petitioner by one Smt. Shantabai PSI of Mahila Police Station, Kalaburagi on the basis of which the respondent-police have registered the case against the petitioner for the offences under Sections 196, 198 and 420 of IPC.
7. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the correctness or the falsity of the caste certificate obtained by the petitioner cannot be questioned by any other person like one Devaraj in the present case. The learned counsel further submits that the District Caste Verification Committee has not at all followed the mandatory provisions of Section 4D and Rule 7 and 7A of the concerned Rules in coming to the 9 conclusion that the petitioner has obtained false caste certificate. The learned counsel for the petitioner has relied on various orders of this Court passed in the similar matters.
8. Per contra, the learned High Court Government Pleader submitted that in case the proceedings are quashed liberty may be given to the authorities to follow the procedure and pass necessary orders in accordance with law.
9. The proceedings before the District Caste Verification Committee, Kalaburagi passed against the petitioner was challenged before the appellate authority department of Social Welfare of Backward Classes and the said appeal was allowed on 15.10.2018 and the matter was remanded to the authorities to hold necessary enquiry by the District Caste Verification Committee in order to come to the conclusion as to whether the petitioner has used the false caste 10 certificate in securing the employment and pass necessary orders. When the said matter on remand was pending for enquiry before the District Caste Verification Committee, the present complaint was filed against the petitioner on 24.08.2018 and Crime No.0184/2018 has been registered against him. Admittedly, the District Caste Verification Committee, Kalaburagi has not passed any orders by following the mandatory provisions of Rule 7 and 7A of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments, Etc.) Rules, 1992. Unless the Caste Verification Committee passes an order in accordance with law, that is Rule 7 and 7A there cannot be prosecution of the petitioner for obtaining false caste certificate especially when the appeal filed by the petitioner was allowed by the appellate authority on 15.10.2018 and the matter was remanded to the original authorities to hold enquiry against the petitioner in accordance with law. The 11 present complaint would not have been filed until such an enquiry was held. Therefore, the arguments advanced on behalf of the petitioner that the complaint is premature deserves to be accepted.
10. In similar circumstances, this Court has quashed the registration of the FIR against the persons who had been alleged to have obtained false caste certificate for the purposes of securing employment. In the case of Marularadhya V/s The State and another, Criminal Petition No.200393/2015 by order dated 09.06.2015. This Court has observed in para 8 that "Therefore, looking from the above said facts and circumstances of the case and also the observations made by this Court that unless the procedures are followed u/s.4, 7 and Rule 7, 7A of the said Rules, the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement Cell has no jurisdiction to initiate any criminal prosecution. In this case also looking from the facts and circumstances of 12 the case, the Caste Verification Committee has in fact, not decided the authenticity, falsity, fakeness or veracity of the certificate. They have also not decided that the caste certificate was used by the petitioner for the purpose of obtaining job. Therefore, the complaint or the FIR registered against the petitioner without referring the report to the Directorate of Civil rights Enforcement Committee for initiation of any criminal proceedings as per Rule 7A of the Rules and not even sending the report for any further action is without jurisdiction. Therefore, unless the Caste Verification Committee after due inquiry as contemplated under the provisions, particularly, Section 4 and 7 and 7A of the said Rules, the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement Committee will get no opportunity or right to initiate criminal prosecution against the petitioner.
11. In the case of Basayya Sindankeri V/s The State and another in Criminal Petition No.201098/2015 13 by order dated 18.02.2016 in the similar circumstances, this Court has held in para 8 of the order that "This Court after having considered various facts involved in the issue held that without there being any direction from the District Verification Committee to initiate prosecution or concluding such certificate if false, Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement independently would have no jurisdiction to directly investigate into the matter or file charge complaint or charge sheet, when the procedure as contemplated under the extant Rules are not followed. It has been held that only after enquiry under Rule 7 of Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments, Etc.) (Amendment) Rules, 1993, is held by competent District Caste Verification Committee or the appellate authority then it will have to send a report to the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement and only thereafter said cell can take steps to prosecute the persons who had falsely obtained such false certificate. 14 In other words, it has been opined by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court that until and unless such a report is forwarded by the District Caste Verification Committee to District Civil rights Enforcement Cell, it would not have jurisdiction to initiate prosecution against persons who would have obtained false caste certificate".
12. Similar observations are made by this Court in the case of Ravindra Kumar V/s The State and another in Criminal Petition No.200946/2015 dated 28.03.2016, Sanjeevakumar V/s The State and another in Criminal Petition No.200645/2015 dated 11.02.2016.
13. Therefore in the present case filing of the complaint by the Mahila PSI of CRE Cell, Kalaburagi on the complaint or allegations made by one Devaraj S. Chouri against the petitioner when the matter was remanded to the District Caste Verification Committee, Kalaburagi was pending is without jurisdiction. This 15 complainant would not have been filed unless the District Caste Verification Committee forward its report to the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement Committee for initiation of criminal proceedings as per Rule 7A of the Rules and when no such report was forwarded by the District Caste Verification Committee, the complainant had no jurisdiction to initiate the criminal proceedings against the petitioner. Therefore, the impugned initiation of criminal proceedings against the petitioner in Crime No.0184/2018 (FIR No.1426/2018) of Brahampur Police Station for the offence punishable under Sections 196, 198 & 420 of IPC are liable to be quashed. Accordingly it is quashed.
14. However, the quashing of the proceedings would not come in the way of District Caste Verification Committee initiating proceeding as observed herein above and in the event of the said committee forwarding a report to the District Civil Rights Enforcement Cell 16 concluding that the caste certificate of the petitioner is false and in such an event respondent No.2 would be at liberty to proceed in accordance with law as observed herein above.
Sd/-
JUDGE SMP