Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 18: The High Court today pulled up the prosecution for a regressive and stereotyped investigation of a complaint alleging kidnapping of a girl and quashed the FIR as well as trial court proceedings against the petitioner by recording that the criminal court should be proactive rather than being passive with regard to the presentation of the final police report.
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The FIR was lodged on a complaint in 2015 by the father of a missing girl in which kidnapping charges were implicated against the petitioner-Sunny Kashyap and thereafter challan was presented before the Additional Sessions Judge Anantnag for further proceedings.
Petitioner Kashyap through the medium of the instant petition, has come forward seeking the Court to exercise its inherent power to relieve him from the grip and grasp of an ongoing criminal case which is alleged to be nothing but fractured facts stitched case set up against him having no legal bearing and justifiability to subject him to suffer the ordeal if left to run its trial course.
Justice Rahul Bharti took serious concern on the prosecution investigation and Final Report which revealed complete avoidance to the aspect of the case scenario related to filing of petition by Kahsyap before the Court in which the statement of victim came to disclose the truth as to the fact that she had admitted her marriage with him but, nevertheless, wanted herself back to be in the company of her parents thereby ruling out any act of omission or commission amounting to an offence on the part of the petitioner towards person of victim.
“When this Court examines the facts stated in the present petition and the mindset with which the I.O. of FIR No. 93/2015 as well as of SHO Police Station Achabal coming up with Final Police Report (Challan) No. 38 of 2022, this Court is left pondering as to why instead of being progressive and open minded in its investigation, the police investigation more often is found to be regressive and stereotyped”, Justice Bharti recorded.
The court said that wrong mention of age of his missing daughter by the complainant lodging the FIR obviously was with a mindset to suppress the true facts and sensationalize the case as if a minor girl had become the victim of kidnapping with possibility of being subjected to more heinous offence upon her person that too by a person of different religious background.
“IO concerned in the case did not confront the complainant the father of victim as to why he had misquoted the age of his daughter in his complaint mentioning her to be 16-17 years as against her actual date of birth being 10.04.1996 in her class 10th mark-sheet which came to be procured by IO for the purpose of production along with Final Police Report (Challan) and the same is on the record”, read the judgment.
The court said that on all essential factual aspects of the case, it finds that investigation of FIR No. 93/2015 resulting in presentation of a Final Police Report (Challan) No. 38 of 2022 was with a mindset to torment the accused of having dared to indulge in an inter-religion marriage for which this Court has no hesitation in saying and observing so in bold letters bearing full consciousness about the state of facts of the case.
Justice Bharti also viewed that it is always meant and expected from a criminal court to be proactive rather than being passive from the very presentation of final police report(challan) onwards in scanning the script of the criminal case.
The court disposed of the petition of Kashyap by ordering quashment of criminal case before the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Anantnag.
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