Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 9: High Court today quashed an FIR registered against a Government teacher for insulting the national honour and recorded that allowing the investigation in the matter would be an abuse of process of law.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar quashed the FIR against one Dr Tawseef Ahmad Bhat working as a lecturer on contractual basis in Government Degree College Bani. “I, therefore, in the exercise of inherent jurisdiction vested in this court quash the impugned FIR”, Justice Kumar concluded.
Court after perusal of impugned FIR, which was registered on the basis of a written complaint of the students said the same clearly transpires that it does not attribute any act to the petitioner-Bhat which may be tantamount to preventing anybody from singing the Indian National Anthem or causing any disturbance to the assembly which was engaged in such singing.
“Failure of the petitioner to participate in the assembly engaged in singing of Indian National Anthem, intentionally or otherwise, and roaming about in the school premises where the assembly was engaged in singing Indian National Anthem, in my opinion, would not amount to either preventing the singing of Indian National Anthem or causing any disturbance to the assembly engaged in such singing”, Justice Kumar recorded.
Court said the conduct of the petitioner, if intentional, may amount to showing disrespect to the National Anthem and a breach of fundamental duty enjoined on citizens of the Country by Article 51A of the Constitution.
The petitioner court said, by losing his contractual job has already paid the price and the foregoing reasons the contents of FIR, which is based upon a written complaint of the students of the College, do not constitute a cognizable offence and, therefore, registration of FIR and setting the investigating machinery in motion was not called for.
Court added that the observations made by SDM, Bani, that on enquiry he found that the petitioner had intentionally caused disturbance in the assembly engaged in singing National Anthem is clearly an afterthought and was not part of the complaint made before him by the students nor is such observation supported by any material particulars.
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