Sidharth Singh Baidwan vs State Of Punjab And Others
2025 Latest Caselaw 1357 P&H

Punjab-Haryana High Court

Sidharth Singh Baidwan vs State Of Punjab And Others on 24 January, 2025

                                      Neutral Citation No:=2025:PHHC:010829




115         IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
                        AT CHANDIGARH

                                                 CRM-M-3855-2025
                                                 Date of decision: 24.01.2025

Sidharth Singh Baidwan                                             ....Petitioner

                                     Versus

State of Punjab and others                                      ...Respondents


CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARPREET SINGH BRAR

Present:    Mr. Maninder Arora, Advocate
            for the petitioner.

            Mr. Subhash Godara, Addl.A.G., Punjab.

HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J. (ORAL)

1. The present petition has been filed under Section 528 of Bharatiya

Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for issuance of directions to respondents No.2

& 3 to proceed with the complaint filed by the petitioner dated 31.12.2024 vide

UID No.501488 (Annexure P-8) which is pending before respondent No.3 at

the instance of respondent No.2.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner inter alia contends that the

respondent No.4 is the real grandmother of the petitioner and the property, in

dispute, was owned by late Sh. Satinder Singh, father of the petitioner and son

of respondent No.4 and both of them are joint owner in possession of the same

in equal share. After the death of Sh. Satinder Singh, the petitioner and

respondent No.4 are only legal heirs of deceased and inherited the suit property

in equal share being 1" class legal heirs of the deceased as the deceased got an

ex parte decree of divorce from his wife vide decree dated 16.12.1999 in

petition No. HMA Case No.300 of 1997. It is further alleged that respondent

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No.4 in connivance with Lambardar i.e. respondent No.7 and revenue officials

got entered the mutation of the suit property in the revenue record by preparing

wrong pedigree table in which the name of the plaintiff has been concealed.

Respondent No.4 by concealing the facts got the mutation entered and

sanctioned in her own name and got the suit property transferred in her name

illegally. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a suit for declaration vide No.683 of

2024 which is pending for 10.02.2025 (Annexure P-6). It is thus prayed to

issue an appropriate direction to the official respondents to fairly investigate the

matter.

3. Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner and after perusing

the record of the case with his able assistance, this Court finds no force in the

arguments advanced on behalf of the petitioner.

4. A two Judge Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sakiri Vasu

Vs. State of U.P. and others, (2008) 2 SCC 409 has held that the Magistrate has

been bestowed with all necessary powers to ensure proper investigation under

Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. Discouraging the practice of approaching the High Court

for redressal of grievances like non-registration of FIR or improper

investigation, Justice Markandey Katju made the following observations:

"27. As we have already observed above, the Magistrate has very wide powers to direct registration of an FIR and to ensure a proper investigation, and for this purpose he can monitor the investigation to ensure that the investigation is done properly (though he cannot investigate himself). The High Court should discourage the practice of filing a writ petition or petition under Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code simply because a person has a grievance that his FIR has not been registered by the police,

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or after being registered, proper investigation has not been done by the police. For this grievance, the remedy lies under Sections 36 and 154(3) before the concerned police officers, and if that is of no avail, under Section 156(3) Criminal Procedure Code before the Magistrate or by filing a criminal complaint under Section 200 Criminal Procedure Code and not by filing a writ petition or a petition under Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code.

28. It is true that alternative remedy is not an absolute bar to a writ petition, but it is equally well settled that if there is an alternative remedy the High Court should not ordinarily interfere."

5. This ratio was reiterated in the judgments rendered by the Hon'ble

Supreme Court in Sudhir Bhaskarrao Tambe Vs. Hemant Yashwant Dhange

and others, (2016) 6 SCC 277, M. Subramaniam and another Vs. S. Janaki

and another, (2020) 16 SCC 728, Dilawar Singh vs. State of Delhi 2007(4)

R.C.R(Criminal) 115.

6. The High Courts, while exercising its inherent powers under

Section 482 Cr.P.C., can issue directions for prompt and proper investigation,

however, it would be out of bounds to instruct the investigation to be completed

in a certain time frame, in alignment with the opinion expressed by it. The

Courts must be conscious of its influence and not exercise the same in an

unwarranted fashion as it may prejudice the conclusion of the investigating

agency, straying further away from achieving the overarching goal of justice.

7. Further, even though the jurisdictional Magistrate is well equipped

to deal with such type of matters, learned counsel for the petitioner has not able

to provide a satisfactory response regarding approaching this Court directly

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instead of the concerned jurisdictional Court by filing an appropriate

application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C.

8. In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court is not

inclined to issue any such direction. Accordingly, present petition is dismissed

being bereft of any merit.

                                              (HARPREET SINGH BRAR)
                                                    JUDGE
24.01.2025
Neha


             Whether speaking/reasoned        :      Yes/No
             Whether reportable               :      Yes/No




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