Alleged misappropriation of Rajiv Gandhi Trust property
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 1: High Court has quashed FIR registered by Crime Branch against an Advocate for alleged misappropriation of property of Rajiv Gandhi Trust.
According to Crime Branch, a criminal case was registered against Ashok Vijay Gupta (Executor of Rajiv Gandhi Trust), Prem Parkash Sharma (expired), the then Naib Tehsildar Nayabat, Chak Avtara Bishnah; Shiv Kumar, the then Patwari of Patwar Halqa, Chak Avtara (now NaibTehsildar, Majalta), Anwar Sadotra, the then Patwari Chak Avtara (now Girdawar in the office of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu) and other unknown public servants and private persons for their involvement in hatching criminal conspiracy and misappropriating property of Rajiv Gandhi Trust.
After hearing Senior Advocate Suniil Sethi, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani observed, “the leveling of the allegation of conspiracy against the petitioner without mentioning as to how, where and which of the conspirators hatched the conspiracy and for what purpose, or circumstances warranting inference of existence of conspiracy, in law is not enough to bring persons to face the trial in a criminal case”.
“A complaint should make out a prima facie case of conspiracy against the accused persons. One cannot have the construction of a fine superstructure without a foundation. Thus, the offence under Section 120(b) RPC as well is not made out against the petitioner in the FIR in question”, the High Court said, adding “insofar as commission of offence under Section 5(2) of the PC Act is concerned, same as well is not attracted in the case of the petitioner, in that, same refers and relates to a public servant and that the petitioner is not a public servant, as such, the alleged offences need not to be dealt with or discussed while considering the case of the petitioner in the instant petition”.
“The FIR in question has been registered by the respondents in total disregard to the principles and propositions laid down by the Apex Court in Lalita Kumari case after more than two and a half years against the petitioner ignoring and overlooking the closure report of enquiry initiated in the year 2018 by the official respondents upon the complaint of the respondent 4 filed on the same set of facts on which the impugned FIR has been registered”, High Court said while quashing FIR No. 06/2021 dated 8th of February, 2021 registered with Police Station Crime Branch, Jammu insofar as it relates to the petitioner.
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