Bombay High Court
Sunil S/O Umakant Kuril vs State Of Maharashtra Thr Pso Ps Ambazari ... on 3 September, 2025
2025:BHC-NAG:8737-DB
J-apl1130.25.odt 1/7
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR
CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APL) No.1130 OF 2025
Sunil s/o.Umakant Kuril,
Aged about 34 years,
Occupation : Private,
R/o.Ramnagar, Telankedi,
Post : Ambazari, Nagpur : APPLICANT
...VERSUS...
1. State of Maharashtra,
Through its Police Station Officer,
Police Station Ambazari, Nagpur.
2. Anil s/o. Ramji Kove,
Aged about 52 years,
Occupation : Service,
R/o. Police Constable attached to
Ambazari Police Station. : NON-APPLICANTS
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Mr. S.R.Kadam, Advocate for Applicant.
Ms. Sneha Dhote, APP for Non-applicant No.1.
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CORAM : URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE AND
NANDESH S. DESHPANDE, JJ.
DATE : 03rd SEPTEMBER, 2025.
ORAL JUDGMENT : (Per : Urmila Joshi-Phalke)
1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.
2. Heard finally by consent of learned counsel appearing
for the parties.
3. The present application is preferred under Section 482
of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Section 528 of the Bhartiya
Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) for quashing and setting aside the
charge-sheet bearing No.861/2018 dated 28.11.2018 and
subsequently registered as Summary Criminal Case No.28325/2018
pending in the Court of Joint Civil Judge Junior Division and
Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nagpur, arising out of Crime
No.287/2018, registered under Section 160 of the Indian Penal
Code.
4. Brief facts which are necessary for the disposal of the
application are as under :
The First Information Report bearing Crime
No.287/2018 was registered under Section 160 of the Indian Penal
Code at Ambazari Police Station on the basis of report lodged by
Anil Ramji Kove alleging that a verbal and physical altercation took
place between two groups outside the Police Station. It is the case
of the prosecution that the applicant was part of the said group
involved in the alleged altercation which was preceded by
stare down and exchange of words between the parties standing
near the Police Station. The alleged incident took place on the road
adjoining Police Station at a public place and, therefore, due to the
act of the present applicant and the other co-accused the public
peace was disturbed which is one of the ingredients of the offence
of affray under Section 160 of the Indian Penal Code. After
completion of the investigation the charge-sheet was filed bearing
No.861/2018 before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class registered
as Summary Criminal Case No.28325/2018.
5. Heard learned counsel for the applicant, who submitted
that in fact the ingredients of the offence are not made out and,
therefore, there is no prima facie material to show that the present
has committed the offence of affray. He has invited our attention
towards the definition of affray given under Section 159 of the
Indian Penal Code and also towards the statement of the witnesses
and submitted that no single statement is recorded by the
Investigating Officer of a public which will show that there was a
disturbance of public peace and, therefore, the applicant has set to
have committed offence of an affray. Thus, the applicant has
contributed to disturb the public peace is not at all fulfilled and,
therefore, no offence is made out against the present applicant. In
such a situation forcing the present applicant to face the trial would
be the abuse of the process of law and, therefore, the charge-sheet
and entire proceedings deserves to be quashed and set aside.
6. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the non-
applicant No.1 strongly opposed for the same and invited our
attention towards the statement of the witnesses and submitted that
the entire incident has occurred on the public road at a public place
which is sufficient to show that there was a disturbance of public
peace and, therefore, the offence is made out as far as whether the
act of the present applicant was sufficient to ascertain that there
was a disturbance of public peace or not is a matter of evidence. At
this stage sufficient material is on record to show the involvement
of the present applicant and, therefore, the application deserves to
be rejected.
7. We have considered the rival submissions of both the
parties. The informant is a Police Constable who has interfered
with the scuffle of the two groups which took place in front of the
Police Station. The applicant was involved in fighting with the
other persons. Immediately the informant and other staff of the
Police Station attempted to intervene and pacify the said quarrel.
However, they ignored the same and involved in further proceeding
of assaulting to each other. Therefore, two ingredients of Section
159 of the Indian Penal Code are satisfied that there were more
than two persons and there was fighting in the public place.
However, the third ingredient of Section 159 of the I.P.C. was
absent, as it can be gathered from the material placed before us
and, therefore it cannot be said that the applicant has committed
the offence of affray.
8. Learned counsel for the applicant has placed on record a
decision of this Court in Criminal Application (APL) No.517/2025
wherein this Court has considered the decision of the Hon'ble Apex
Court in the case of Mahant Kaushalya Das Vs. The State of Madras,
reported in AIR 1966 SC 22 wherein as held as under :
"6. ................. mere causing public
inconvenience is not sufficient. Here there are
no statements of persons from the public to see
even prima facie, as to whether the public
peace was disturbed. Furthermore, the use of
the word fighting will not be sufficient as in the
present case the word used is 'Maramari'. The
said fighting should be as a result of use of
force and further it can be considered that
neither in the F.I.R. nor in the statements under
Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
or even by the Investigating Officer, it was tried
to extract as to what was the point/reason, on
which those persons were fighting. It also
appears that though four persons were taken in
custody, they were not taken for medical
examination in order to see as to whether the
said fighting has caused any kind of hurt to any
one of them or all of them."
9. Present case is also identical. The entire record does not
show that there was disturbance to the public peace. The
statements of the public are also not recorded. The contents of the
F.I.R. as well as the statements of the witnesses which are required
during the investigation as the material in the charge-sheet depicts
that the material is not sufficient to attract the ingredients of
Section 159 of the I.P.C. and, therefore, it cannot be said that the
applicant has committed an offence punishable under Section 160
of the Indian Penal Code. The law laid down in the case of State of
Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal, reported in AIR 1992 SC 604, wherein
seven parameters have been laid down, but the present case would
fall in one of the categories i.e. Clause (a) of paragraph 8.1, which
reads as under :
"(a) where the allegations made in the First
Information Report or the complaint, even if
they are taken at their face value and accepted
in their entirety do not prima facie constitute
any offence or make out a case against the
accused;"
10. Therefore, considering above facts and circumstances, a
case is made out to quash and set aside the charge-sheet. Hence,
we proceed to pass following order :
ORDER
(i) Criminal Application is allowed.
(ii) The charge-sheet bearing No.861/2018,
dated 28.11.2018, out of the First Information Report
No.287/2018, registered with Police Station Ambazari, Nagpur for
the offences punishable under Section 160 of the Indian Penal Code
alongwith Criminal proceeding bearing Summary Criminal Case
No.28325/2018 pending on the file of the learned 14 th Joint Civil
Judge Junior Division and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nagpur is
hereby quashed and set aside.
(iii) Rule is made absolute in the abovesaid terms.
(iv) No order as to costs.
(Nandesh S. Deshpande, J.) (Urmila Joshi-Phalke, J.)
wadode
Signed by: Mr. Devendra Wadode
Designation: PS To Honourable Judge
Date: 04/09/2025 18:23:03
