Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 30: High Court today observed that filing multiple complaints in the same offense is abuse of law.
The court after perusal of the status report filed by the official respondents before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar in respect of the successive complaints filed by the complainant said the same reveals that the subject matter of enquiry under probe with Crime Branch, Kashmir is similar to that of FIR No. 262/2009 of Police Station, Parimpora Srinagar.
The accused persons have challenged the investigation undertaken by the Crime Branch as directed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar in a land transaction case in which an FIR has already been lodged.
Court said when the enquiry officer in the matter drawn by him while conducting enquiry upon the subsequent complaint filed by the complainant against the petitioner-accused persons, the Magistrate ought to have stopped the enquiry and investigation into the matter as directed by him.
“The position, however, has manifestly been overlooked by the Magistrate and in that process, rejected the application filed by the petitioners for stopping the enquiry and investigation on wrong premise”, Court said.
Court added that the law is prohibiting filing of multiple criminal proceedings by the same person against the same accused for the same alleged offence and consistently has held that getting an accused entangled in multiple criminal proceedings for the same alleged offence would be an abuse of process of law.
“The petition succeeds and the complaint filed by the complainant against petitioners before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, pending enquiry and investigation before Crime Branch is quashed”, Court concluded.
The matrix of the case is the petitioner-accused persons had cheated the complainant and obtained crores of rupees against land measuring 108 Kanals situated at Sharifabad Budgam and though the possession of the land had been delivered to him yet sale deeds thereof are not being executed.
The complaint is stated to have been forwarded by SSP, Srinagar to SHO Police Station, Parimpora for action under law and complainant thereafter filed a complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar with similar allegations against them which complaint came to be forwarded under Section 156 (3) Cr. P. C for investigation by the Magistrate to Police Station, Parimpora resulting into registration of FIR No. 262/2009 and upon completion of the investigation therein, a challan thereof came to be presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar against the petitioner-accused persons for commission of offence under Section 420, which challan is stated to be pending trial.
Court has been apprised that the Crime Branch summoned the petitioner-accused persons to the Police Station where they came to know that the complainant had yet filed another complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar under Section 156 (3) which had been forwarded by the Magistrate for investigation to SSP, Crime Branch. The complaint is also stated to have been maintained on the same allegations as had been filed earlier by the complainant while suppressing the filing of earlier complaint, registration of FIR No. 262/2009 and consequential charge sheet laid thereof.
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