Uttarakhand High Court
WPCRL/1504/2022 on 4 August, 2022
Author: Manoj Kumar Tiwari
Bench: Manoj Kumar Tiwari
Office Notes,
reports, orders
or proceedings
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Date or directions COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
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and Registrar's
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Signatures
WPCRL No. 1504 of 2022
Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.
Mohd. Safdar, Advocate for the
petitioners.
Mr. Dinesh Chauhan, Brief Holder for the State of Uttarakhand.
Heard learned counsel for the parties. By means of present writ petition, petitioners have prayed for quashing of F.I.R. No. 0788 of 2022, dated 29.07.2022 under Section 332, 323, 504, 506, 427 IPC, registered at Police Station Manglaur, District Haridwar. Further prayer has been made for a direction to the Police Authorities not to arrest petitioners with regard to the aforesaid F.I.R.
The impugned F.I.R. is on record as Annexure-1 to the writ petition. It is alleged in the F.I.R. that on 29.07.2022, when complainant with other officials of Electricity Department were going to Mundana for recovery of arrears of electricity bill they saw an electricity wire, directly inserted on L.T. line. On suspicion, they inspected the said wire and found that 2.241 KW load electricity was being stolen by petitioners for domestic use. On seeing the electricity officials, petitioner started removing electricity meter, recording whereof was made by Meter Reader of the Department. Thereafter, petitioner abused the complainant and other officials and threatened them of dire consequences.
Learned counsel for petitioners submits that petitioners have falsely been implicated in the instant crime and there is no independent witness of the alleged incident.
Whether the allegation made in the FIR against petitioners is correct or not, cannot be adjudicated at this stage. It is a matter of trial.
Since FIR discloses commission of cognizable offence and none of the parameters laid down by Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of M/s Neeharika Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra & others; reported in AIR 2021 SC 1918 are fulfilled for quashing the FIR, this Court is not inclined to interfere in the matter.
Accordingly, writ petition is dismissed with liberty to petitioner to approach the appropriate forum under Section 438 of Cr.P.C.
It is made clear that before making arrest, if any, procedure laid down under Section 41(A) of Cr.P.C. shall be followed by police authorities.
(Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 04.08.2022 Navin