In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a plea filed by Rajesh Kumar seeking to quash a criminal case against him for posting a highly objectionable and disrespectful picture of Lord Hanuman accompanied by an offensive tagline on social media.
The single-judge bench of Justice Prashant Kumar emphasized that while dealing with an application filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) challenging the charge sheet, the court cannot draw its own inferences or make conclusions based on the contents of the First Information Report (FIR) or the material provided.
Referring to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in previous cases, the court stated that at the stage of taking cognizance, the court should refrain from delving into the merits of the case. The court's power is limited to determining whether the material placed before it establishes the alleged offenses against the accused and justifies further proceedings. Disputed questions of fact are to be examined by the lower court, and the High Court should not interfere in such matters while dealing with a Section 482 application.
Considering the evidence on record and the magistrate's conclusion that a prima facie case was established, the court concluded that the case did not fall within the parameters set by the Supreme Court. The court further clarified that the scope of exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC is well-defined, and the instant application did not meet the requirements.
The accused had moved the High Court challenging the charge sheet and summoning order, as well as the entire proceedings of the criminal case registered under Sections 505(2)/295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
After conducting the investigation, a chargesheet was filed in the case, and the court, upon perusing the material available on record, took cognizance and found that a prima facie case was made against the accused applicant.
With this ruling, the criminal case against Rajesh Kumar will continue, as the High Court refused to interfere and quash the proceedings.
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