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Patna High Court

Pranav Shrivastava vs The State Of Bihar Through The Principal … on 17 February, 2024

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Criminal Writ Jurisdiction Case No.961 of 2022
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-52 Year-2021 Thana- JAKKANPUR District- Patna

PRANAV SHRIVASTAVA son of Late Shri Umesh Kumar Shrivastava
Resident of Adarsh Colony, Bhagwat Nagar, Patna P.S. Agam Kuan, District –
Patna.

… … Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Home Department
(Bihar)Bihar, Patna.
2. The Director General of Police, Bihar.
3. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Bihar, Patna.
4. Superintendent of Police (City) Patna.
5. The officer- In- charge, Jakkanpur Police Station, Patna.
6. The Investigating officer, Jakkanpur P.S. Case Number 52/2021 Jakkanpur
Police Station, Patna.
7. Prerna Sharma W/o Pranav Shrivastava, Daughter of Late Ashutosh Sharan
At present resident of Tara – Kunj, Ramnagar, chiraiyatand, Patna.

… … Respondent/s

Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mrs. Prakritita Sharma, Adv.,
Mr Amarjeet, Adv.
For the State : Mr. Deepak Kumar, AC to GP-4

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIBEK CHAUDHURI

ORAL JUDGMENT

Date : 17-02-2024

Heard learned Advocate for the petitioner as well as

learned APP for the State.

2. The petitioner is the husband of respondent no. 7.

3. By filing the instant writ petition the petitioner has

prayed for issuance of writ in the nature of certiorari, directing the

respondent nos. 2 to 6 to quash the F.I.R. bearing Jakkanpur P.S.
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Case No. 52 of 2021, registered on the basis of a written complaint

filed by the respondent no. 7 against the petitioner and her mother

(since deceased), under Section 498A of the I.P.C. and Sections 3

and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

4. It is submitted by the learned Advocate for the

petitioner that his marriage was solemnized with the respondent

no. 7 on 23rd November, 2017. In the year 2019, respondent no. 7

lodged an F.I.R. alleging, inter alia, that her husband used to

assault her physically and treat her with cruelty. In the said F.I.R.,

respondent no. 7 did not make any allegation of dowry. There was

also no allegation of cruel treatment within the definition of

explanations A and B of Section 498A of the I.P.C. in the said

F.I.R. The petitioner on the other hand, filed a suit for restitution of

conjugal rights. The previous F.I.R. case was amicably settled at

the intervention of the well wishers including the trial court, but

the respondent no. 7 refused to go to her matrimonial home. This

led the petitioner to file a suit for restitution of conjugal rights.

Subsequently, the petitioner filed the instant F.I.R. (Annexure-7)

making unsubstantiated, false and frivolous allegation, against her

husband as well as mother-in-law. In the second F.I.R., she made a

story of illegal demand of dowry. She also made allegation that the

petitioner created a Facebook account and uploaded objectionable
Patna High Court CR. WJC No.961 of 2022 dt.17-02-2024
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pictures of respondent no. 7 in the said Facebook account. She also

mentioned objectionable WhatsApp chat allegedly forwarded by

the petitioner, however, Police did not collect the photocopies of

the WhatsApp chat or documents in Facebook. Therefore, the said

allegation of mental cruelty could not be substantiated by the

Investigating Officer.

5. Learned Advocate for the petitioner also submits that

the Investigating Officer submitted charge-sheet against the

petitioner without collecting any material evidence against him. It

is also pointed out by the learned Advocate for the petitioner that

thought charge-sheet was filed in the court of the learned

A.C.J.M.-I, Patna, no progress with regard to trial could be

achieved, due to misplacement of record. Therefore, this is a fit

case for quashment of F.I.R.

6. Learned Advocate for the State, on the other hand,

submits that the Investigating Officer filed charge-sheet on the

basis of materials and evidences collected by him. Filing of

charge-sheet shows establishment of prima facie case against the

petitioner. Therefore, after filing of charge-sheet F.I.R. cannot be

quashed.

7. Having heard, the learned Advocate for the petitioner

and the respondent/ State, I like to record at the outset that in
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plethora of cases, the Hon’ble Supreme Court states that an F.I.R.

can only be quashed very sparingly and rarest of the rare cases.

The guidelines laid down in State of Haryana Ors. Vrs. Bhajan

Lal Ors. case, reported in 1992 (Suppl.) 1 SCC 335 that an

F.I.R. can be quashed on the following grounds:-

“1. Whether the allegations in the F.I.R.
prima facie make out a cognizable case.

2. Whether the F.I.R. does not disclose any
cognizable offence, but indicates the need of an
enquiry where a criminal proceeding is manifestly
attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding
is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for
wrecking vengeance on the accused and with a view to
spite him due to private or personal grudge, the F.I.R.
may be quashed.”

8. The learned Advocate for the petitioner has led stress

on the above mentioned aspect that the F.I.R. filed by respondent

no. 7 was manifestly attended with mala fide only to wreck

vengeance against her husband.

9. However, this Court is not in a position to scan and

scrutinize the evidence collected by the Investigating Officer

during investigation. Filing of charge-sheet prima facie means

establishment of accusation against the petitioner. After filing of

the charge-sheet F.I.R. cannot be quashed. Therefore, this Court is

not in a position to quash the F.I.R. at a subsequent stage of filing
Patna High Court CR. WJC No.961 of 2022 dt.17-02-2024
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charge-sheet. However, the petitioner is at liberty to take recourse

of Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for quashing of the criminal case

pending against him, wherein under the inherent power the High

Court can look into the evidence, collected by the Investigating

Officer, and come to a finding as to whether the evidence collected

by the Investigating Officer is sufficient to frame charge against

the accused or not.

10. With the above order, the instant criminal writ

petition is disposed of.

(Bibek Chaudhuri, J)
pravinkumar/-

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