The single judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that if multiple First Information Reports by the same person against the same accused are permitted to be registered in respect of the same set of facts and allegations, it will result in the accused getting entangled in multiple criminal proceedings for the same alleged offense.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the FIR was registered for committing the criminal breach of trust by sanctioning a loan in 74 (seventy-four) different R.D. accounts amounting to Rs. 25,53,400/- in furtherance of common intention with Smt. Suman Agrawal. The present petition is filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to quash the FIR registered for the offenses punishable under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Contentions of the Petitioner
The petitioner submitted that the FIR of Kotwali P.S. was registered before the present FIR and for the same allegation regarding the same set of facts and allegations.
The petitioner relied upon the judgment titled T.T. Antony vs. State of Kerala & Ors.
Contentions of the State
The state submitted that since the case is still being investigated, the precise accusation made against the petitioner won't be revealed until the investigation is complete. Therefore, the prayer to quash and set aside the FIR ought not be allowed.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that the accused may become involved in several criminal proceedings for the same alleged offense if several First Information Reports filed by the same person against the same accused are allowed to be recorded concerning the same facts and allegations. Hence, the registration of such multiple FIRs is nothing but an abuse of the process of law.
The court relied upon the judgments titled Upkar Singh v. Ved Prakash & others and Tarak Dash Mukharjee & Ors. vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.
Based on these considerations, the court was of the view that continuation of the FIR of Daily Market P.S. and all other further proceedings would be tantamount to abuse of the process of law. The court quashed and set aside the FIR and all the further proceedings.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court allowed the present petition.
Case title: Chitranjan Kumar Vs The State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary
Case No.: Cr.M.P. No.1518 of 2021
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Avishek Prasad, Advocate
Advocate for the State: Mr. Pankaj Kr. Mishra, Addl. P.P.
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