EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Feb 11: Justice Sanjeev Kumar of J&K High Court Srinagar Wing quashed the FIR against Zakir Hussain Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil who was booked by the police after his "highly objectionable" audio clip mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Army in the wake of the recent face-off between India and China went viral on social media.
While quashing the FIR, Justice Sanjeev Kumar observed that that the offences charged against the petitioner are not made out and, therefore, the registration of FIR, which has culminated into filing of the Final Police Report without previous sanction from the competent authority before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kargil is sheer abuse of the process of law. This Court, therefore, finds it a fit case to invoke its inherent powers vested by Section 482 Cr. P. C and quash all the criminal proceedings pending against the petitioner including the impugned FIR with regard to the audio clip, which allegedly contains conversation between the petitioner and one Nissar Ahmed Khan.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar after hearing both the sides observed that it is, thus, well settled and beyond any pale of doubt that the provisions of Section 154 Cr.P.C. are not controlled by the provisions of Section 196 and both operate at different points of time and at different stages of a criminal case. It is, thus, axiomatic that if the police receives an information, oral or in writing, with regard to the commission of a cognizable offence, even if it is an offence referable to Section 196 Cr.P.C., it is under an obligation to reduce that information in writing and register a formal FIR. Once it is conceded that the police has the power to register an FIR even with regard to cognizable offences referable to Section 196 Cr.P.C., the power to investigate the offence has to be necessarily conceded in favour of the police. The police can even go to the extent of presenting challan/final report before the Court but the Court shall not take cognizance thereof unless there is previous sanction by the Central Government or State Government of District Magistrate, as the case may be.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar further observed that in the instant case, indisputably, previous sanction of the Central Government or State Government is not obtained for launching prosecution against the petitioner. The police have registered the FIR and investigated the matter on the asking of the District Magistrate and have, on investigation, submitted the final report before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kargil. —JNF |
