Meeraj Khalid & Anr vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 759 Cal

23.02.2022                  IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Item No.71                  CRIMINAL REVISIONAL JURISDICTION
Ct.No.34
   dc.
                                    C.R.R. 989 of 2020
                                   (Via Video Conference)

                                    Meeraj Khalid & Anr.
                                          versus
                              The State of West Bengal & Ors.

             In Re: An Application under Section 482 of the Code of
             Criminal Procedure, 1973 filed for challenging the order dated
             04.02.2020 passed by learned Senior Municipal Magistrate,
             Kolkata in connection with Miscellaneous Case No.5 of 2020
             pending before the learned Senior Municipal Magistrate,
             Kolkata under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal
             Procedure.


             Mr. Sekhar Basu, Sr. Adv.,
             Mr. Sourav Chatterjee,
             Ms. Sayanti Santra                       ... For the Petitioners.

             Mr.   S. N. Mookherjee, Ld. Advocate General,
             Mr.   S. G. Mukherjee, Ld. P.P.,
             Mr.   Saibal Bapuli,
             Mr.   Arijit Ganguly,
             Mr.   Sanjib Kumar Dan                  ... For the State.

             Mr. Raj Dip Ray,
             Mr. Anindya Sundar Chatterjee,
             Mr. Goutam Dinda                         ... For the K.M.C.

             Mr. Gouri Shankar Pandey           ... For the de facto complainant.



                     The present revisional application has been preferred

             challenging the order dated 04.02.2020 passed by learned

             Senior Municipal Magistrate, Kolkata in connection with

             Miscellaneous Case No.5 of 2020 under Section 156(3) of the

             Code of Criminal Procedure.

                     The subject matter of grievance in respect of the order

             complained of is the following observations made by the

             learned Magistrate :
                           2




            "Hence, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crimes),

      Kolkata is directed take necessary disciplinary action against

      the concerned erring Police Officers responsible for non-

      registration of FIR in spite of receiving an information

      disclosing commission of a cognizable offence in compliance

      with the solemn mandates of the Hon'ble Apex Court and the

      Court shall be informed of the action so taken by him.

            ...............................................................

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Division,

Kolkata and the Officer-in-Charge, Park Street PS are directed

to appear in person and file written show-cause why

necessary action shall not be initiated against them for their

dereliction/avoidance/neglect of duty and

disobey/violation/breach of law."

The learned Magistrate amongst others relied upon a

judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari Vs.

Govt. of U.P. reported in AIR 2014 Supreme Court 187.

Paragraph 111 of the said judgment was referred by the

learned Magistrate and consequently the Joint Commissioner

of Police (Crimes), Kolkata was directed to take necessary

disciplinary action against the concerned erring Police

Officers and a direction was also passed upon the Deputy

Commissioner of Police, South Division, Kolkata and the

Officer-in-Charge, Park Street PS to appear in person and file

written show-cause as to why necessary action shall not be

initiated against them.

At the relevant point of time when the information was

received by the police station regarding unauthorized

construction, there was no specific guidelines or procedures

laid down for the police officers to take action in co-ordination

with the Municipal authorities responsible for deciding

unauthorized construction.

Pursuant to the direction passed by this Court on

04.10.2021, a Standard Of Procedure has been prepared in

consultation with the police authorities represented by

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, Lalbazar,

Kolkata and also the DYCE (C)/BLDG/South West Building

Dept., Kolkata Municipal Corporation and both the

government departments have agreed amongst themselves to

adhere to the Procedures which are as follows :

"i. On an information of an unauthorized construction

by a private person before an Officer-in-Charge of a

Police Station, the concerned Officer-in-Charge, either

by himself or by a Sub-Inspector of Police, who has been

endorsed with the complaint, without any delay, will

write to Executive Engineer (Civil), KMC of local borough

having jurisdiction to let the police know if the

construction alleged is unauthorized or not, as

mentioned in section 588 (2) (i) KMC Act.

ii. The KMC authority, after receipt of information as

mentioned in Sl. (i), will inspect said construction site

without delay and submit a report to concerned Officer-

in-Charge of the Police Station within 07 (seven) working

days, stating if the construction is authorized or not.

iii. On getting a report from KMC authority that said

construction is unauthorized, the Officer-in-Charge will

direct a Sub-Inspector of the Police Station to register a

case under provisions of KMC Act, treating the

information alongwith KMC report as FIR and

investigate the case.

iv. If the report of KMC authority does not reveal any

unauthorized construction, then the information may be

filed and diarised and private informant should be

informed of the result within 07 (seven) working days."

In view of the settled Procedures to be adopted and the

fact that the police authorities are not the proper authorities

to address on the issue of unauthorized construction which is

within the domain of experts of the field and is to be decided

by engineers associated with the Municipal authorities, I am

of the opinion that the police authorities should not be

saddled in the midst of a litigation for inaction for which they

are not expert to decide. Henceforth, if the Procedures laid

down above, are not followed, the concerned Officer would be

held responsible for dereliction of duty.

Having regard to the steps taken and the Procedures so

adopted, I am of the opinion that the police authorities

particularly in this case the Deputy Commissioner of Police,

South Division, Kolkata and the Officer-in-Charge, Park

Street Police Station, petitioners herein, should be given an

opportunity and as such, the part of the order wherein the

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crimes), Kolkata was asked to

take disciplinary action against the petitioners herein and

also the part of the order which directed the petitioners to file

written show-cause regarding necessary action to be initiated

against them for their dereliction/avoidance/neglect of duty

and disobey/violation/breach of law is hereby set aside.

So far as the trial of the case is concerned, the same

would proceed in accordance with law. The learned Senior

Municipal Magistrate, Kolkata is directed to take the same to

its logical conclusion and not to insist further in this

particular case regarding the observations made in respect of

appearance and filing show-cause by the Deputy

Commissioner of Police, South Division, Kolkata and the

Officer-in-Charge, Park Street Police Station, (petitioners

herein) in his order dated 04.02.2020.

With the aforesaid observations, the revisional

application being CRR 989 of 2020 is allowed to the limited

extent as stated above.

Interim order, if any, is hereby vacated.

All pending connected applications, if any, are

consequently disposed of.

All parties shall act on the server copy of this order

duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied

for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all

requisite formalities.

(Tirthankar Ghosh, J.)