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2011 DIGILAW 2666 (ALL)

ALGOO RAM v. STATE OF U. P.

2011-11-25

NAHEED ARA MOONIS

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JUDGMENT Hon’ble N.A. Moonis, J.—The applicants have approached this Court invoking the inherent power of this Court under 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing the proceedings of Criminal Case No. 472 of 2000, State v. Algoo Ram and others, under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 467 I.P.C., police station Shahganj, district Agra pending in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra. 2. The prosecution case in nutshell is that the applicants have obtained admission for the training of Lekhpal in Lekhpal Prashikshan Vidyalaya, Agra by procuring forged experience certificate in connivance with the then Deputy Land Management Commissioner Sri Indra Mani and Tulsi Das Gupta, Principal of Lekhpal Training Centre at Agra who was also earlier working as Assistant Land Management Officer during the period 15.1.1985 to 20.9.1989 on the basis of the confidential enquiry of Secretary of Board of Revenue, Section-IV, Lucknow by Confidential Letter No. 2168/5/75/80 dated 19.2.1990 it was found that all the letters were forged regarding grant of permission to get admission in the training college and the then principal Tulsi Das Gupta and the Deputy Commissioner Land Management Committee had given admission in the training college without verifying the documents from the issuing authority with regard to its genuineness thus all 196 Lekhpals were involved in committing forgery and cheating by obtaining admission in the college. The said report was lodged on 27.7.1990 by Ram Ji Lal, Assistant Land Record Officer, Agra (hereinafter referred to as respondent No. 2) and the first information report was registered as Case Crime No. 327 of 1990, under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 467 I.P.C., police station Shahganj, district Agra. After investigation the charge-sheet was submitted on 30.3.2000 and the Court below had also taken cognizance against the applicants and other accused persons. 3. It is argued by the learned counsel for the applicants that there was a government scheme for giving employment to unemployed and untrained Lekhpals after giving training. During the period 13.9.1976 to 1.6.1983 the applicants had duly worked on the post of Lekhpal and who were who eligible to get training for the post of Lekhpal on the basis of letter No. 11021/4-75/80 dated 15.1.1986 circulated by Secretary, Board of Revenue, U.P., Anubhag-4, Lucknow. In pursuance of the aforesaid government order the District Magistrate of the districts were directed for sending the untrained Lekhpal for regular training. In pursuance of the aforesaid government order the District Magistrate of the districts were directed for sending the untrained Lekhpal for regular training. Since the applicants had completed one year of service as untrained Lekhpal they had also moved an application alongwith their experience certificate for getting regular training of Lekhpal. At the time of submission of application the experience certificate was duly verified by the authorities and thereafter their names referred for getting regular training in the training college at Agra. The Deputy Land Management Commissioner on behalf of the State had issued letters for the training as regular candidates of Lekhpal for a period of one year and after training of one year when the applicants were directed to appear in the examination in the year 1990 their names were struck off from the list. The applicants aggrieved by the order approached this Court by filing a writ petition before the Division Bench of this Court and were permitted to appear in the examination provisionally subject to the final order. The applicants in pursuance to the said order dated 16.7.1990 were permitted to appear in the examination but their results were withheld. The Division Bench of this Court had also directed to conclude the enquiry within a period of three months in respect of the charges levelled against the applicants but no enquiry was done within the stipulated period hence the contempt petition was also filed against the authorities concerned. It is further contended by the learned counsel for the applicants that during the course of enquiry the applicants had filed their affidavits individually stating therein that no forgery or cheating was committed while submitting their experience certificates but the District Magistrate, Agra cancelled the admission of the applicants in the Lekhpal Training School as he was annoyed of the contempt proceedings initiated against him. 4. It is further contended that in the instant case the first information report was lodged in 1990 and the investigation dragged on for over ten years and the charge-sheet was submitted in the year 2000 against the applicants depriving them of their constitutional right to have a speedy investigation and trial. The Investigating Officer submitted the charge-sheet without making proper enquiry from the applicants even no enquiry was done with regard to the genuineness of the certificates. The Investigating Officer submitted the charge-sheet without making proper enquiry from the applicants even no enquiry was done with regard to the genuineness of the certificates. The applicants were duly admitted by the orders of the Deputy Land Management Commissioner, Board of Revenue, U.P. hence the submission of the charge-sheet against them and the cognizance taken is nothing but misuse of the process of the Court. The applicants have already suffered immense loss as now they have become over age and they are unemployed. Hence the proceedings initiated against the applicants are liable to be quashed. 5. Per contra the learned A.G.A. has refuted the contention that the charge-sheet has been submitted on the basis of the clinching material evidence collected by the Investigating Officer on the basis of the departmental enquiry initiated against all the applicants and other accused persons who are 196 in number. The very basis of obtaining admission for training by the applicants were in connivance with the then Commissioner and Principal of the Land Management Training School hence the certificates. It was duly enquired into by the Investigating Officer the certificates were found to be forged and by producing forged documents obtained admission in the training school to get regular service of Lekhpal prima facie makes out offences under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 467 I.P.C., therefore, the charge-sheet has rightly been submitted against the applicants and other accused persons whereupon the cognizance has been taken by the Court below. It has further been contended by the learned A.G.A. that the writ petition filed by the applicants was already dismissed in 1994 against which they had filed special appeal and no interim order was passed in the special appeal. The present application is devoid of any merit and this Court should be loath to interfere in the matter. The prosecution cannot be held responsible for delay. 6. Having considered the submission of the learned counsel at the bar about 21 years have been passed since the initiation of proceedings against the applicants and now the commencing of the trial would be violative of the rights of the applicants to a speedy trial. The prosecution cannot be held responsible for delay. 6. Having considered the submission of the learned counsel at the bar about 21 years have been passed since the initiation of proceedings against the applicants and now the commencing of the trial would be violative of the rights of the applicants to a speedy trial. The prosecution is responsible for concluding the investigation in ten years when the applicants who had approached this Court were permitted to appear in examination provisionally but at the same time it was directed to the authorities to conclude the enquiry within three months. This order was passed on 16.7.1990, therefore, the constitutional right to have a speedy investigation and trial vitiates the entire proceedings on account of delay in taking cognizance. The scope and ambit of powers of High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been reiterated by the Apex Court in a series of decisions where the High Court can exercise jurisdiction in quashing the proceedings have been enumerated. The powers of the High Court though very wide but should be exercised in appropriate cases, ex debito justitiae to do real and substantial justice for the administration of which alone Courts exist. The inherent power do not confer an arbitrary jurisdiction to act according to whim or caprice. The powers have to be exercised sparingly with circumspection and in the rarest of rare cases where the Court is convinced on the basis of material on record that while the proceedings to continue would be an abuse of the process of law or that the ends of justice requires that such proceedings ought to be quashed. The Apex Court in the case of Pankaj Kumar v. State of Maharashtra, 2008 ACC (62) 650, has quashed the criminal proceeding on the ground of lackadaisical manner of investigation denying valuable constitutional right of speedy investigation and trial. In State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (Supra) 1992 (1) SCC 335 , seven categories of cases have been formulated where the High Court can exercise power to prevent the misuse of process of Court but it is not an exhaustive list of the circumstances in which such powers could be exercised. In State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (Supra) 1992 (1) SCC 335 , seven categories of cases have been formulated where the High Court can exercise power to prevent the misuse of process of Court but it is not an exhaustive list of the circumstances in which such powers could be exercised. The Apex Court has emphasised the need of speedy investigation and trial as both are mandated by letter and spirit of the criminal procedure code and the constitutional protection provided under Article 21 of the Constitution creating in the accused to be tried speedily. Right of speedy trial encompasses all the stages, namely, the stage of investigation enquiry trial appeal, revision and retrial and where the speedy trial is infringed then who is responsible for the delay, the attending circumstances including the nature of offence, number of accused and witnesses has to be kept in mind. 7. The Court is conscious of the fact that no outer limit can be fixed for concluding any investigation into an offence but in the instant case the manner of investigation spreading over a period of ten years is very much manifest. The initiation of proceeding is an abuse and misuse of the process of the Court, any action allow to continue would result in great injustice. The applicants have been denied of their valuable constitutional right to a speedy investigation and trial on account of which they have become over age to get any employment to earn their livelihood, therefore, the criminal proceedings against them on the basis of the cognizance taken in 2000 pursuant to the first information report dated 27.7.1990 pending in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Agra deserves to be quashed by this Court on this ground alone and this Court declines to interfere into the merits of the accusation against the applicants. In the result, the present 482 petition is allowed and the proceedings initiated against the applicants in pursuance of case Crime No. 327 of 1990 as Criminal Case No. 472 of 2000, under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 I.P.C. pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra is hereby quashed. —————