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2021 DIGILAW 165 (MP)

Ramprasad Jatav v. State of MP

2021-02-17

G.S.AHLUWALIYA

body2021
JUDGMENT : Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia, J. 1. This application under Section 482 of CrPC has been filed for quashment of FIR in Crime No. 101/2018 registered at Police Station Dabra City, District Gwalior for offence under Sections 420, 465, 466, 468, 120-B of IPC. 2. The necessary facts for disposal of present application in short are that a Crime No. 455/2017 was registered against Dharmendra Pandey, Ragini Pandey and two other persons at Police Station Dabra, District Gwalior for offence under Sections 324, 323, 294, 341, 506/34 of IPC and after receipt of the MLC report of the injured, offences under Sections 326 & 307 of IPC were added. It appears that in order to create a false defence of plea of alibi, the accused persons, namely, Ragini Pandey, Dharmendra Pandey, Radhey Pandey and Vivek Pandey hatched a conspiracy and in connivance with Dr. Virendra Gaud who was posted in the Civil Hospital Dabra, a forged and fabricated medical document was prepared to the effect that Ragini Pandey was admitted in the Civil Hospital, Dabra on 04/06/2017 at about 09:00 am and she was discharged on 05/06/2017 at 10:00 am. This forged medical document was prepared in order to create a false defence of plea of alibi of Ragini Pandey because the allegation in Crime No. 455/2017 was that Ragini Pandey, Dharmendra Pandey and two other persons had assaulted the complainant on 04/06/2017 at about 05:00 pm. 3. It is not out of place to mention here that Ragini Pandey along with forged medical certificate filed an application under Section 438 of CrPC before this Court which was registered as MCRC 7358 of 2017 and considering the allegations against her, she was granted anticipatory bail by order dated 10/07/2017. 4. Later on, the complainant filed an application for cancellation of order of anticipatory bail on the ground that the bail was obtained by filing a forged document, which was registered as MCRC 9375/2017. An enquiry was also conducted by the State with regard to the medical certificate issued by Dr. Virendra Gaud and a conclusion was drawn that in fact, Dr. Virendra Gaud had prepared forged and fabricated medical certificate of Ragini Pandey, so that she may obtain anticipatory bail. Relying upon the report submitted by the State with regard to the fact that the certificate issued by Dr. Virendra Gaud and a conclusion was drawn that in fact, Dr. Virendra Gaud had prepared forged and fabricated medical certificate of Ragini Pandey, so that she may obtain anticipatory bail. Relying upon the report submitted by the State with regard to the fact that the certificate issued by Dr. Virendra Gaud was a forged document, this Court by order dated 27/03/2018 passed in MCRC 9375/2017, cancelled the order of anticipatory bail granted to Ragini Pandey. The order dated 27/03/2018 passed in MCRC 9375/2017 was challenged by Ragini Pandey by filing a Special Leave to Appeal (Cr.) No. 4986/2018, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court by order dated 12/06/2018 and seven days' time was granted to Ragini Pandey to surrender herself before the Investigating Officer. It is not out of place to mention here that Ragini Pandey has not still surrendered before the Investigating Officer and is still absconding. 5. It is submitted by the Counsel for the applicant that the applicant has also been made an accused for making false entry in the OPD Slip. It is further submitted that the son of the applicant has also made an application to the Superintendent of Police, Gwalior for free and fair investigation and in that representation, it has been specifically pleaded by the son of the applicant that in fact, Dr. Virendra Gaud is in habit of preparing forged medical certificates after taking money from the people and one Jaswant Jatav supports Dr. Virendra Gaud for preparing forged document but Dr. Virendra Gaud in order to save himself, is trying to falsely implicate the applicant. It is further mentioned in the representation that the applicant is a driver and it is not his duty to make entry in the OPD Slip. In the light of defence taken by the applicant in his representation made to Superintendent of Police, Gwalior, it is submitted by the Counsel for the applicant that the applicant is a driver and it is not his duty to make entry in the OPD Slip and he is being falsely implicated. 6. Per contra, it is submitted by the Counsel for the State that it is a serious matter in which not only a forged document was prepared by Dr. 6. Per contra, it is submitted by the Counsel for the State that it is a serious matter in which not only a forged document was prepared by Dr. Virendra Gaud in connivance with Ragini Pandey and Dharmendra Pandey but that forged document was also used before this Court in order to obtain anticipatory bail and in fact Ragini Pandey had succeeded in obtaining anticipatory bail which was subsequently cancelled by this Court and the order of this Court was also affirmed by the Supreme Court. It is further submitted that it is well-established principle of law that the legitimate prosecution should not be stifled in the mid-way and accordingly, no case is made out for interference. 7. Heard the learned counsel for the parties. 8. Before entering into the allegations, this Court thinks it apposite to consider the scope of interference in exercise of power under Section 482 of CrPC. 9. The Supreme Court in the case of Padal Venkata Rama Reddy Vs. Koveuri Satyanarayana Reddy reported in (2011) 12 SCC 437 has held as under:- "8. Section 482 of the Code deals with inherent power of the High Court. It is under Chapter 37 of the Code titled "Miscellaneous" which reads as under: "482. Saving of inherent powers of High Court.-- Nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, or to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice." This section-* was added by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act of 1923 as the High Courts were unable to render complete justice even if in a given case the illegality was palpable and apparent. This section envisages three circumstances in which the inherent jurisdiction may be exercised, namely: 1. to give effect to any order under CrPC, 2. to prevent abuse of the process of any court, 3. to secure the ends of justice. 9. This section envisages three circumstances in which the inherent jurisdiction may be exercised, namely: 1. to give effect to any order under CrPC, 2. to prevent abuse of the process of any court, 3. to secure the ends of justice. 9. In R.P. Kapur v. State of Punjab AIR 1960 SC 866 this Court laid down the following principles: (i) Where institution/continuance of criminal proceedings against an accused may amount to the abuse of the process of the court or that the quashing of the impugned proceedings would secure the ends of justice; (ii) where it manifestly appears that there is a legal bar against the institution or continuance of the said proceeding e.g. want of sanction; (iii) where the allegations in the first information report or the complaint taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety, do not constitute the offence alleged; and (iv) where the allegations constitute an offence alleged but there is either no legal evidence adduced or evidence adduced clearly or manifestly fails to prove the charge. 10. In State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy (1977) 2 SCC 699 this Court has held as under: (SCC p. 703, para 7) "7. ... In the exercise of this wholesome power, the High Court is entitled to quash a proceeding if it comes to the conclusion that allowing the proceeding to continue would be an abuse of the process of the Court or that the ends of justice require that the proceeding ought to be quashed. The saving of the High Court's inherent powers, both in civil and criminal matters, is designed to achieve a salutary public purpose which is that a court proceeding ought not to be permitted to degenerate into a weapon of harassment or persecution. In a criminal case, the veiled object behind a lame prosecution, the very nature of the material on which the structure of the prosecution rests and the like would justify the High Court in quashing the proceeding in the interest of justice. The ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law though justice has got to be administered according to laws made by the legislature. The ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law though justice has got to be administered according to laws made by the legislature. The compelling necessity for making these observations is that without a proper realisation of the object and purpose of the provision which seeks to save the inherent powers of the High Court to do justice between the State and its subjects, it would be impossible to appreciate the width and contours of that salient jurisdiction." 11. Though the High Court has inherent power and its scope is very wide, it is a rule of practice that it will only be exercised in exceptional cases. Section 482 is a sort of reminder to the High Courts that they are not merely courts of law, but also courts of justice and possess inherent powers to remove injustice. The inherent power of the High Court is an inalienable attribute of the position it holds with respect to the courts subordinate to it. These powers are partly administrative and partly judicial. They are necessarily judicial when they are exercisable with respect to a judicial order and for securing the ends of justice. The jurisdiction under Section 482 is discretionary, therefore the High Court may refuse to exercise the discretion if a party has not approached it with clean hands. 12. In a proceeding under Section 482, the High Court will not enter into any finding of facts, particularly, when the matter has been concluded by concurrent finding of facts of the two courts below. Inherent powers under Section 482 include powers to quash FIR, investigation or any criminal proceedings pending before the High Court or any court subordinate to it and are of wide magnitude and ramification. Such powers can be exercised to secure ends of justice, prevent abuse of the process of any court and to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, depending upon the facts of a given case. The Court can always take note of any miscarriage of justice and prevent the same by exercising its powers under Section 482 of the Code. These powers are neither limited nor curtailed by any other provisions of the Code. However, such inherent powers are to be exercised sparingly, carefully and with caution. 13. The Court can always take note of any miscarriage of justice and prevent the same by exercising its powers under Section 482 of the Code. These powers are neither limited nor curtailed by any other provisions of the Code. However, such inherent powers are to be exercised sparingly, carefully and with caution. 13. It is well settled that the inherent powers under Section 482 can be exercised only when no other remedy is available to the litigant and not in a situation where a specific remedy is provided by the statute. It cannot be used if it is inconsistent with specific provisions provided under the Code (vide Kavita v. State 2000 Cri.L.J. 315 and B.S. Joshi v. State of Haryana (2003) 4 SCC 675 ). If an effective alternative remedy is available, the High Court will not exercise its powers under this section, specially when the applicant may not have availed of that remedy. 14. The inherent power is to be exercised ex debito justitiae, to do real and substantial justice, for administration of which alone courts exist. Wherever any attempt is made to abuse that authority so as to produce injustice, the Court has power to prevent the abuse. It is, however, not necessary that at this stage there should be a meticulous analysis of the case before the trial to find out whether the case ends in conviction or acquittal. (Vide Dhanalakshmi v. R. Prasanna Kumar 1990 Supp SCC 686; Ganesh Narayan Hegde v. S. Bangarappa (1995) 4 SCC 41 and Zandu Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. v. Mohd. Sharaful Haque (2005) 1 SCC 122 .) 15. It is neither feasible nor practicable to lay down exhaustively as to on what ground the jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code should be exercised. But some attempts have been made in that behalf in some of the decisions of this Court vide State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, Janata Dal v. H.S. Chowdhary (1992) 4 SCC 305 , Rupan Deol Bajaj v. Kanwar Pal Singh Gill (1995) 6 SCC 194 and Indian Oil Corpn. v. NEPC India Ltd. (2006) 6 SCC 736 * * * * * * 18. In State of Orissa v. Saroj Kumar Sahoo (2005) 13 SCC 540 it has been held that probabilities of the prosecution version cannot be analysed at this stage. v. NEPC India Ltd. (2006) 6 SCC 736 * * * * * * 18. In State of Orissa v. Saroj Kumar Sahoo (2005) 13 SCC 540 it has been held that probabilities of the prosecution version cannot be analysed at this stage. Likewise, the allegations of mala fides of the informant are of secondary importance. The relevant passage reads thus: (SCC p. 550, para 11) "11. ... It would not be proper for the High Court to analyse the case of the complainant in the light of all probabilities in order to determine whether a conviction would be sustainable and on such premises arrive at a conclusion that the proceedings are to be quashed. It would be erroneous to assess the material before it and conclude that the complaint cannot be proceeded with." 19. In Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia v. Sambhajirao Chandrojirao Angre (1988) 1 SCC 692 this Court held as under: (SCC p. 695, para 7) "7. The legal position is well settled that when a prosecution at the initial stage is asked to be quashed, the test to be applied by the court is as to whether the uncontroverted allegations as made prima facie establish the offence. It is also for the court to take into consideration any special features which appear in a particular case to consider whether it is expedient and in the interest of justice to permit a prosecution to continue. This is so on the basis that the court cannot be utilised for any oblique purpose and where in the opinion of the court chances of an ultimate conviction is bleak and, therefore, no useful purpose is likely to be served by allowing a criminal prosecution to continue, the court may while taking into consideration the special facts of a case also quash the proceeding even though it may be at a preliminary stage." 20. This Court, while reconsidering the judgment in Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia (1988) 1 SCC 692 , has consistently observed that where matters are also of civil nature i.e. matrimonial, family disputes, etc., the Court may consider "special facts", "special features" and quash the criminal proceedings to encourage genuine settlement of disputes between the parties. 21. This Court, while reconsidering the judgment in Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia (1988) 1 SCC 692 , has consistently observed that where matters are also of civil nature i.e. matrimonial, family disputes, etc., the Court may consider "special facts", "special features" and quash the criminal proceedings to encourage genuine settlement of disputes between the parties. 21. The said judgment in Madhavrao case (1988) 1 SCC 692 was reconsidered and explained by this Court in State of Bihar v. P.P. Sharma 1992 Supp (1) SCC 222 which reads as under: (SCC p. 271, para 70) "70. Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia v. Sambhajirao Chandrojirao Angre (1988) 1 SCC 692 also does not help the respondents. In that case the allegations constituted civil wrong as the trustees created tenancy of trust property to favour the third party. A private complaint was laid for the offence under Section 467 read with Section 34 and Section 120-B IPC which the High Court refused to quash under Section 482. This Court allowed the appeal and quashed the proceedings on the ground that even on its own contentions in the complaint, it would be a case of breach of trust or a civil wrong but no ingredients of criminal offence were made out. On those facts and also due to the relation of the settler, the mother, the appellant and his wife, as the son and daughter-in-law, this Court interfered and allowed the appeal. ... Therefore, the ratio therein is of no assistance to the facts in this case. It cannot be considered that this Court laid down as a proposition of law that in every case the court would examine at the preliminary stage whether there would be ultimate chances of conviction on the basis of allegation and exercise of the power under Section 482 or Article 226 to quash the proceedings or the charge-sheet." 22. Thus, the judgment in Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia (1988) 1 SCC 692 does not lay down a law of universal application. Even as per the law laid down therein, the Court cannot examine the facts/evidence, etc. in every case to find out as to whether there is sufficient material on the basis of which the case would end in conviction. Thus, the judgment in Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia (1988) 1 SCC 692 does not lay down a law of universal application. Even as per the law laid down therein, the Court cannot examine the facts/evidence, etc. in every case to find out as to whether there is sufficient material on the basis of which the case would end in conviction. The ratio of Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia (1988) 1 SCC 692 is applicable in cases where the Court finds that the dispute involved therein is predominantly civil in nature and that the parties should be given a chance to reach a compromise e.g. matrimonial, property and family disputes, etc. etc. The superior courts have been given inherent powers to prevent the abuse of the process of court; where the Court finds that the ends of justice may be met by quashing the proceedings, it may quash the proceedings, as the end of achieving justice is higher than the end of merely following the law. It is not necessary for the Court to hold a full-fledged inquiry or to appreciate the evidence, collected by the investigating agency to find out whether the case would end in conviction or acquittal". The Supreme Court in the case of State of Orissa v. Ujjal Kumar Burdhan reported in (2012) 4 SCC 547 has held as under:- "8. It is true that the inherent powers vested in the High Court under Section 482 of the Code are very wide. Nevertheless, inherent powers do not confer arbitrary jurisdiction on the High Court to act according to whims or caprice. This extraordinary power has to be exercised sparingly with circumspection and as far as possible, for extraordinary cases, where allegations in the complaint or the first information report, taken on its face value and accepted in their entirety do not constitute the offence alleged. It needs little emphasis that unless a case of gross abuse of power is made out against those in charge of investigation, the High Court should be loath to interfere at the early/premature stage of investigation. 9. In State of W.B. v. Swapan Kumar Guha, emphasising that the Court will not normally interfere with an investigation and will permit the inquiry into the alleged offence, to be completed, this Court highlighted the necessity of a proper investigation observing thus: (SCC pp. 597-98, paras 65-66) "65. ... 9. In State of W.B. v. Swapan Kumar Guha, emphasising that the Court will not normally interfere with an investigation and will permit the inquiry into the alleged offence, to be completed, this Court highlighted the necessity of a proper investigation observing thus: (SCC pp. 597-98, paras 65-66) "65. ... An investigation is carried on for the purpose of gathering necessary materials for establishing and proving an offence which is disclosed. When an offence is disclosed, a proper investigation in the interests of justice becomes necessary to collect materials for establishing the offence, and for bringing the offender to book. In the absence of a proper investigation in a case where an offence is disclosed, the offender may succeed in escaping from the consequences and the offender may go unpunished to the detriment of the cause of justice and the society at large. Justice requires that a person who commits an offence has to be brought to book and must be punished for the same. If the court interferes with the proper investigation in a case where an offence has been disclosed, the offence will go unpunished to the serious detriment of the welfare of the society and the cause of the justice suffers. It is on the basis of this principle that the court normally does not interfere with the investigation of a case where an offence has been disclosed. ... 66. Whether an offence has been disclosed or not must necessarily depend on the facts and circumstances of each particular case. ... If on a consideration of the relevant materials, the court is satisfied that an offence is disclosed, the court will normally not interfere with the investigation into the offence and will generally allow the investigation into the offence to be completed for collecting materials for proving the offence." (emphasis supplied) 10. On a similar issue under consideration, in Jeffrey J. Diermeier v. State of W.B., while explaining the scope and ambit of the inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code, one of us (D.K. Jain, J.) speaking for the Bench, has observed as follows: (SCC p. 251, para 20) "20. ... On a similar issue under consideration, in Jeffrey J. Diermeier v. State of W.B., while explaining the scope and ambit of the inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code, one of us (D.K. Jain, J.) speaking for the Bench, has observed as follows: (SCC p. 251, para 20) "20. ... The section itself envisages three circumstances under which the inherent jurisdiction may be exercised, namely, (i) to give effect to an order under the Code; (ii) to prevent abuse of the process of court; and (iii) to otherwise secure the ends of justice. Nevertheless, it is neither possible nor desirable to lay down any inflexible rule which would govern the exercise of inherent jurisdiction of the court. Undoubtedly, the power possessed by the High Court under the said provision is very wide but it is not unlimited. It has to be exercised sparingly, carefully and cautiously, ex debito justitiae to do real and substantial justice for which alone the court exists. It needs little emphasis that the inherent jurisdiction does not confer an arbitrary power on the High Court to act according to whim or caprice. The power exists to prevent abuse of authority and not to produce injustice." The Supreme Court in the case of Vinod Raghuvanshi Vs. Ajay Arora, reported in (2013) 10 SCC 581 has held as under:- "30. It is a settled legal proposition that while considering the case for quashing of the criminal proceedings the court should not "kill a stillborn child", and appropriate prosecution should not be stifled unless there are compelling circumstances to do so. An investigation should not be shut out at the threshold if the allegations have some substance. When a prosecution at the initial stage is to be quashed, the test to be applied by the court is whether the uncontroverted allegations as made, prima facie establish the offence. At this stage neither can the court embark upon an inquiry, whether the allegations in the complaint are likely to be established by evidence nor should the court judge the probability, reliability or genuineness of the allegations made therein." The Supreme Court in the case of Smt. Nagawwa vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa Konjalgi & Ors. reported in AIR 1976 SC 1947 has held as under:- "6. ........ reported in AIR 1976 SC 1947 has held as under:- "6. ........ The High Court appears to have gone into the whole history of the case, examined the merits of the evidence, the contradictions and what it called the improbabilities and after a detailed discussion not only of the materials produced before the Magistrate but also of the documents which had been filed by the defence and which should not have been looked into at the stage when the matter was pending under Section 202, has held that the order of the Magistrate was illegal and was fit to be quashed..... 7. For these reasons, therefore, we are satisfied that the order of the High Court suffers from a serious legal infirmity and the High Court has exceeded its jurisdiction in interfering in revision by quashing the order of the Magistrate. We, therefore, allow the appeal, set aside the order of the High Court dated December 16, 1975 and restore the order of the Magistrate issuing process against respondents No. 1 and 2." Thus, it is clear that if uncontroverted allegations do not make out an offence, only then the prosecution can be quashed. 10. Investigation is within the exclusive domain of the prosecution. In the present case, not only a named FIR was lodged against Ragini Pandey and Dharmendra Pandey in Crime No. 455/2017 but in order to create a false defence of plea of alibi, Dharmendra Pandey obtained a forged medical certificate of Ragini Pandey from Dr. Virendra Gaud to the effect that Ragini Pandey was already hospitalized on 04/06/2017 at 09:00 am and she was discharged on 05/06/2017 at 10:00 am and, therefore, her participation in the offence which took place on 04/06/2017 at 05:00 pm, was not possible. This act of Dr. Virendra Gaud as well as Dharmendra Pandey and Ragini Pandey in obtaining the forged medical document is a direct interference with the justice dispensation system because by misusing the public office, Dr. Virendra Gaud had issued a forged certificate, so that it can be used in a judicial proceeding. The allegation against the applicant is that he had made forged entry in the Hospital register by preparing OPD slip. 11. The applicant had filed an application for grant of anticipatory bail which was registered as MCRC 23726/2019 and the said application was rejected on merits by order dated 28/06/2019. The allegation against the applicant is that he had made forged entry in the Hospital register by preparing OPD slip. 11. The applicant had filed an application for grant of anticipatory bail which was registered as MCRC 23726/2019 and the said application was rejected on merits by order dated 28/06/2019. Unfortunately, for the reasons best known to the applicant, he has not disclosed the fact of rejection of his application for grant of anticipatory bail. It is well-established principle of law that whoever comes to the Court must come with clean hand without suppressing any material fact. 12. Be that as it may. 13. The crux of the matter is that the applicant is alleged to have prepared a forged OPD slip of Ragini Pandey to show that she was medically examined by Dr. Virendra Gaud on 04/06/2017, whereas even in the in-house enquiry, it has been found that all the entries made in the Hospital register were forged and fabricated. 14. Under these circumstances, this Court is of the considered opinion that there is sufficient material against the applicant to prima facie warrant his prosecution for offence under Sections 420, 465, 466, 468, 120-B of IPC. Accordingly, this application fails and is hereby dismissed.