Allahabad High Court
Akash Upadhyay vs State Of U.P. And 3 Others on 6 September, 2023
Bench: Vivek Kumar Birla, Vinod Diwakar
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:175594-DB
Court No. - 45
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 13571 of 2023
Petitioner :- Akash Upadhyay
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- Achyut Jee
Counsel for Respondent :- G.A.
Hon'ble Vivek Kumar Birla,J.
Hon'ble Vinod Diwakar,J.
1. Heard Shri Achyut Jee, learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Ratan Singh, learned A.G.A. for the State.
2. The present writ petition has been preferred with the prayer to quash the impugned first information report dated 19.7.2023 registered as Case Crime No.0144 of 2023 under Sections 2 & 3(1) of the U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, Police Station- Bansdish Road, District- Ballia, and for a direction to the respondents not to arrest the petitioner in pursuance of the impugned First Information Report.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, has been imposed on the basis of single case. He further tried to show the manner in which the petitioner was falsely implicated in the base F.I.R. and also argued the other factual aspects of the matter that how the petitioner has been falsely implicated. It was also submitted that while preparing the gang chart, provisions of U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021, have not been followed. Attention was drawn to Rules 5 and 10 of U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021, in support of his arguments. It is further submitted that the gang-chart has not been recommended by the Additional Superintendent of Police and has been recommended by the Circle Officer, and therefore, there is violation of Rule 5(2) of the U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021. It is next submitted that certified copy of the recovery memo has not been annexed with the present gang chart, therefore, there is violation of the Gangsters Rules, and the present criminal prosecution is liable to be quashed. Learned counsel for the petitioner further sought to assail the validity and correctness of the facts recorded in the recovery memo, wherein a charge sheet has already been submitted. It is further submitted that the discharge application is pending.
4. Per contra, learned A.G.A. has opposed the petition and placed reliance upon the judgment rendered by Hon'ble the Apex Court in the case of Shraddha Gupta Vs. State of U.P. and others (Criminal Appeal Nos.569-570 of 2022, decided on 26.04.2022) and submits that for a single offence/FIR, an accused person can be prosecuted under the U.P. Gangster and Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. He also submitted that in the base F.I.R., charge-sheet has also been submitted and there is no violation of U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021. He submits that recommendation to Superintendent of Police is by Nodal Officer, Gang-chart, who is the competent authority. It is further submitted that the complete certified copy of the gang-chart has not been annexed.
5. We have considered the rival submission and the have perused the record.
6. A perusal of the photo copy of the gang-chart clearly reflects that the Nodal Officer of the gang-chart, Circle Officer District Ballia recommended the same and it was further recommended by Superintendent of Police, Ballia, for approval by the District Magistrate, which was duly approved by him. We find that initial recommendation to the district level of police is in the Nodal Officer, Gang-chart and is as per Rule 16(1) of the Rules. We further find that insofar as the recovery memo is concerned, charge-sheet has admittedly been submitted, photocopy whereof has been annexed and the photocopy of the recovery memo itself has been annexed as Annexure-4 to the writ petition. Therefore, we do not find that there is any violation of the Rules, 2021. Insofar as the challenge raised to the contents of the recovery memo on merits, we find that it is a separate issue regarding which a discharge application has already been filed and is pending. Before this Court it is only the First Information Report lodged under the provisions of Gangsters Act, wherein charge-sheet in the based FIR has already been filed, is under challenge.
7. Insofar as the violation of U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Rules, 2021, are concerned, we find that the entire scheme of U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, as well as the rules framed thereunder have already been considered by this Court in detail in Ambuj Parag Dubey And 2 Others Vs. State Of U.P. And 2 Others, 2022 (4) ACR 3878 and in Virendra Kasaudhan Vs. State Of U.P. And 3 Others, 2023 (7) ADJ 676 (DB), in the light whereof there seems to be no violation of Rules, 2021.
8. In view of the above, we do not find any illegality in the preparation of gang-chart.
9. A perusal of the impugned FIR clearly discloses a cognizable offence.
10. The writ petition is devoid of merits, and is accordingly, dismissed.
Order Date :- 6.9.2023
Anil K. Sharma
