Kerala High Court
Sudhish N vs State Of Kerala on 27 June, 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE VIJU ABRAHAM
Tuesday, the 27th day of June 2023 / 6th Ashadha, 1945
WP(C) NO. 17117 OF 2023(L)
PETITIONER:
SUDHISH N, AGED 40 YEARS, S/O. N NARAYANANKUTTY, MULLEAPUNCHAYIL
HOUSE 255, THRIKKARIYOOR, KOTHAMANGALAM, PIN - 686692
RESPONDENTS:
1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695001
2. STATE POLICE CHIEF, KERALA STATE POLICE HEADQUATERS, VAZHUTHACAUD,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA , PIN - 695010
3. ADDITIONAL SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, ERNAKULAM RURAL, POWER HOUSE
JUNCTION, SUB JAIL RD, ALUVA, KERALA , PIN - 681301
Writ petition (civil) praying inter alia that in the circumstances
stated in the affidavit filed along with the WP(C) the High Court be
pleased to direct 3rd Respondent to issue Non - Involvement in Offences
Certificate under Section 59 of the Kerala Police Act, 2011 in favor of
the petitioner, till the disposal of the above Writ Petition (civil).
This petition coming on for orders upon perusing the petition and
the affidavit filed in support of WP(C) and upon hearing the arguments of
SRI. E.K.NANDAKUMAR (SENIOR ADVOCATE) alongwith M/S. M.GOPIKRISHNAN
NAMBIAR, K.JOHN MATHAI, JOSON MANAVALAN, KURYAN THOMAS, PAULOSE C.
ABRAHAM, RAJA KANNAN, DOMINIC ANTONY, ASHER REVI JOB, Advocates for the
petitioner and of GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the respondents, the court passed
the following:
APPENDIX OF WP(C) 17117/2023
Exhibit P2 TRUE COPY OF THE CONSUMER COMPLAINT C.C NO. 69 OF 2019
DATED 6.02.2019 FILED BY MS. SHEFNA PUNNILATH MOHAMMED
ASHRAF BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER REDRESSAL
COMMISSION, ERNAKULAM
Exhibit P4 TRUE COPY OF THE OFFICE ORDER DATED 8.03.2023 ISSUED BY
AIR INDIA EXPRESS
Exhibit P5 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION NO. 152860405-2023-7-02826
DATED 1.05.2023 FILED BY THE PETITIONER FOR ISSUANCE OF
NON - INVOLVEMENT IN OFFENCES CERTIFICATE
Exhibit P6 TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION DATED 3.05.2023 ISSUED
BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER
Exhibit P7 TRUE COPY OF POLICE CERTIFICATE BEARING NO.
2023/A/PCC/SBA/19/ER DATED 6.11.2019 ISSUED BY THE 3RD
RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER
Exhibit P8 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 12.05.2023 ISSUED BY THE
PETITIONER TO THE 3RD RESPONDENT
Exhibit P9 TRUE COPY OF THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIPT OF TAPPAL
DATED 12.05.2023 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT
Exhibit P10 TRUE COPY OF THE CIRCULAR BEARING NO. 14/2022/PHQ DATED
07.05.2022 ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT
VIJU ABRAHAM, J.
---------------------
W.P(C) No.17117 of 2023
---------------------------
Dated this the 27th day of June, 2023
ORDER
The above writ petition is filed seeking a
direction to the 3rd respondent to issue Non-
Involvement in Offences Certificate, incorporating
the details of the crime involved, if any, in
favour of the petitioner.
2. Petitioner is working in Air India Express
from the year 2014 and is currently the Senior
Officer - Airport Services. One Ms.Shefna Punnilath
Mohammed Ashraf has filed Ext.P2 consumer
complaint, C.C.No.69 of 2019 before the District
Consumer Redressal Commission, Ernakulam. Later,
the said complainant in Ext.P2 complaint also
registered a crime as Crime No.362 of 2019 against
the petitioner before the Nedumbassery Police
Station, rasing baseless aspersions and the said
complaint has been taken to file of the Judicial
First Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly, and the
same is been pending as C.C.No.224 of 2020. While
so, as per Ext.P4 order dated 8.3.2023 petitioner
was designated as Station In-Charge of the
company's Cochin Station. In the light of the new
responsibilities entrusted in furtherance of
Ext.P4, the petitioner has to apply for an Airport
Entry Pass before the Bureau of Civil Airport
Security. It is mandatory that a fresh Non-
Involvement in Offences Certificate is submitted
along with the application filed before the Bureau
of Civil Airport Security for issuance of Airport
Entry Pass. Petitioner submitted Ext.P5 application
bearing No.152860405-2023-7-02826 through the
online portal for issuance of Non-Involvement in
Offences Certificate. The 3rd respondent has denied
issuance of Non-Involvement in Offences Certificate
to the petitioner vide Ext.P6 communication dated
3.5.2023, wherein the petitioner was informed that
the NIOC cannot be issued for the reason that the
petitioner is involved in Crime No.362 of 2019 of
Nedumbassery Police Station. Petitioner submits
that on a previous occasion, during the pendency of
the above said crime, the 3rd respondent has issued
Ext.P7 Police Certificate dated 6.11.2019. A
perusal of Ext.P7 would reveal that the involvement
of the petitioner in Crime No.362 of 2019 was also
mentioned in the said Certificate. Thereupon,
Ext.P8 letter dated 12.5.2023 was submitted before
the 3rd respondent narrating the true state of
affairs, which was received as is evident from
Ext.P9 postal acknowledgement receipt. Petitioner
came to know that the 2nd respondent has issued
Ext.P10 circular whereby it was expressly provided
that the Non-Involvement in Offences certificate
shall not be issued if the person is involved with
any criminal case. Petitioner submits that the
delay in issuance of Non-Involvement in Offences
Certificate will impede the work of the petitioner
and will be put to irreparable injury and serious
prejudice, whereby violated the fundamental right
to livelihood as provided under Article 21 of the
Constitution of India. Petitioner further contended
that while issuing Ext.P10 circular, the 2nd
respondent did not take into consideration the
dictum laid down in Biju T.C v. SHO, Nedumbassery
Police Station (WP(C) No.14360 of 2015).
3. A counter affidavit has been filed by the
3rd respondent of which paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 which
reads as follows:
"4. It is submitted that, on perusal
of the records pertaining to the issuance
of non-involvement in offences
certificate. It is learnt that the same
had been issued to the applicant as an
offline computer printout on 6.11.2019.
It could be manually prepared until the
PHO Circular No.15/2022 dated 13.05.2022
came into force. As per the said
Circular, the application for the
issuance of Non-Involvement in Offences
Certificate (NIOC) can be submitted
either online or offline. If it is
submitted through offline, the submitted
application will be entered in the ICOPS
application by the concerned office and
further enquiry and approval process will
be done through the ICOPS application
only.
5. It is submitted that, this office
is issuing such certificate in accordance
with the aforementioned Circulars and the
provisions of Section 59 of Kerala Police
Act 2011. The denial of the NIOC (non-
involvement in offences certificate) can
only be given through an online format
which could not be altered or modified in
favour of the applicant. There is a set
format in this regard. According to the
Circular, if the application is denied
due to the involvement of the applicant
in a pending criminal case he shall be
served a reply containing details of such
crime number, sections of offence, date
of occurrence and present stage. As per
these guidelines, a proper reply has been
given to the petitioner from this office.
6. It is submitted that the
petitioner's claim that he was issued an
NIOC in 2019 from this office by then
Additional Superintendent of Police is
baseless and unsubstantiated. He was
just issued a manually prepared
certificate mentioning his involvement in
the above criminal case and put
additional information that no other
criminal case was charged against him
except Crime No.362/2019 u/s 509 IPC of
Nedumbasserry Police Station. As
everything is transformed into online
portal, there is no option to put
additional information in that way."
The stand taken in the counter affidavit is that
since whole process have been changed to online
mode, if the petitioner is involved in any crime,
no certificate would be generated as requested by
the petitioner.
3. I have heard the learned Counsel for the
petitioner as well as the learned Government
Pleader.
4. This Court in WP(C) No.14360 of 2015, have
considered the case of issuance of Police Clearance
Certificate in the format and it was contended by
the petitioner therein that since he is involved in
a crime, the police authorities are refusing to
issue a Police Clearance Certificate. This Court
as per judgment dated 22.5.2015 issued an order
to the effect that if the petitioner is involved in
a crime, a certificate has to be issued stating the
nature of the offence in which the petitioner is
involved and police authorities cannot refuse to
issue a certificate to the petitioner and
therefore, a direction was issued to the police
authorities to issue a certificate showing all the
details including the offence in which the
petitioner therein is involved. The stand of the
respondent that the whole process has been changed
to online mode and therefore, if the petitioner is
involved in any crime, the certificate will not be
generated by the computer cannot be accepted. The
petitioner was issued with Ext.P7 Police
Certificate which show the involvement of the
petitioner in Crime No.362/2019 of Nedumbassery
Police Station. This Court has occasioned to
consider an almost identical issue in EJO P.J v.
the Regional Passport Office and Another in WP(C)
No.9369 of 2023. In the said case also a stand was
taken that the police clearance certificate are
issued from the system based on the Ministry of
External Affairs data base and the Central Data
Base permitted Police Certificate is to be issued
with barcodes and scanned photographs only if the
applicant has no criminal antecedents, or else a
manual certificate can be issued without the
barcode and scanned photographs. The Court in the
said case did not accept the said stand taken by
the Central Government and directed the Central
Government to make necessary modification in the
Central Data Base so that the certificate as
requested by the petitioner therein could be issued
with a barcode and scanned photographs and the
criminal case details.
After hearing both sides, I am of the opinion
that the issuance of such certificate has become
online cannot be a reason for not issuing a
certificate to the petitioner in the nature of
Ext.P7, which is very much essential for continuing
his employment. Therefore, there will be an interim
order directing the 3rd respondent to issue a
computer generated/manual Police Certificate in the
nature of Ext.P7 specifically giving the details of
the criminal cases in which the petitioner is
involved. Necessary certificate either computer
generated or manual shall be issued to the
petitioner within a period of one week from the
date of receipt of a copy of this order.
sd/- VIJU ABRAHAM, JUDGE
pm
27-06-2023 /True Copy/ Assistant Registrar
