Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 12: The High Court has stayed investigation in impugned FIR lodged against officials of Rural Development Department (RDD) Block Mahore for not releasing material liabilities of works of 2017-18 to a local person of Panchayat who was not entitled for the same.
The court was hearing a petition filed by petitioners for quashing order passed on Dec 7, 2020 by Court of Judicial Magistrate Mahore and also FIR No. 93/2020 registered in Police Station Mahore on the directions of Magistrate.
The complainant Abdul Gani, resident of village Sarh, had lodged complaint against RDD officials in the Munsiff Court through counsel for material claims of works without mentioning any titles of works completed in the year 2017-18 and the Judicial Magistrate passed order under section 156 (3) CrPC to SHO Police Station Mahore for lodging FIR.
The complainant had mentioned the Sections 420, 409, 506, 34 IPC in his application to be applied and the police applied all these sections on the officials as desired by the complainant allegedly without any preliminary enquiry.
The RDD approached High Court seeking quashment of the FIR with the plea that the complainant is basically a Job card holder who has been paid all his dues and payments of the days he worked and no liability is pending towards department. RDD alleged that the applicant had tried to blackmail officials for his monetary benefits.
As per the rule, material claims of any work are only provided to registered vendors of Panchayat who supply the material for execution of works and job card holder cannot claim material from the department.
In the plea, the officials wanted the FIR quashed on the grounds that they have been wrongly and arbitrarily named. Besides staying proceedings of the FIR, the High Court has also issued notice to respondent Abdul Gani through SHO Mahore.
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