| HC quashes FIR registered to harass, calls it abuse of law | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sept 5: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed an FIR lodged against four residents of Rahim Nagar, Narwal Bala, Jammu, holding that it was filed with malafide intent to harass the accused and amounted to an abuse of process of law.
Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, while deciding CRM(M) No. 49/2021, quashed FIR No. 18/2021 dated January 13, 2021 registered at Police Station Bahu Fort under Sections 323, 341 and 147 IPC against petitioners Ghulam Nabi Kamlak, Saleem Arif, Mohd Zubir and Sameer Ali Khan. The Court observed that the FIR was a counterblast to FIR No. 15/2021, which had already been registered on the complaint of the petitioners regarding the same incident.
On January 11, 2021, a dispute broke out at Rahim Nagar over alleged encroachment of a Nallah near the house of respondent Shabnam Naz. The petitioners alleged that Naz and her relatives resorted to stone pelting, injuring the daughter of petitioner Ghulam Nabi Kamlak, who was hospitalized. Their complaint led to registration of FIR No. 15/2021 at Bahu Fort Police Station.
Two days later, on January 13, 2021, a counter-complaint by Shabnam Naz resulted in the impugned FIR No. 18/2021 against the petitioners.
The Court noted that the allegations in FIR No. 18/2021 were "omnibus and vague" and clearly filed as a countermeasure to pressurize the petitioners.
Referring to landmark rulings including State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal and State of Karnataka V. L. Muniswamy, the Court reiterated that it can exercise powers under Section 482 CrPC to quash criminal proceedings where allegations are manifestly attended with mala fides.
"Keeping the FIR alive in such circumstances would be a clear abuse of process of law," the Court held, while granting relief to the petitioners.
(JNF) |
|
