Damage to Govt property in 2016 unrest
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 7: The High Court has directed the police to complete investigation of FIR registered in 2016 unrest for damaging the Government property so that the culprits are brought to book for commission of offences.
Justice Sanjay Dhar while dismissing the petition challenging the FIR registered by the police for damaging the Government School and Panchayat Ghar, directed that the investigation be completed in the case expeditiously in order to bring the culprits booked for such offences.
The petitioner-Shabir Ahmad Malla had challenged FIR No.316/2016 for offences under Section 148, 436 RPC and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act registered with Police Station Shopian. In the impugned FIR it is stated that a mob of people attacked the building of Government Primary School Chatawatan Tehsil Shopian, as a result of which the building was razed to the ground. Besides this, the adjacent building of Panchayat Ghar was also gutted. On receiving this information, the police registered the impugned FIR and started investigation of the case.
It has been contended in the petition that the accused-Malla has not been named in the impugned FIR nor he is involved in the alleged offences and the police has falsely implicated him on the basis of some fabricated information due to animosity. It was further averred that the petitioner-Malla has been appointed as a Fireman in the Fire and Emergency Services Department but because of the pendency of the impugned FIR, his salary is not being released.
Justice Dhar said that a criminal prosecution can be quashed against a person only if from the contents of the FIR and the material collected during investigation of the case no cognizable offence is disclosed against a person. “However, in the instant case though the petitioner is not named in the impugned FIR, there is definite material on record to suggest his involvement in the alleged crime. Therefore, the prosecution against the petitioner in such circumstances cannot be scuttled by quashing the same”, Court said.
Court added that the power of the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.PC cannot be invoked to quash a genuine prosecution and dismissed the petition with the direction to complete the investigation of the case expeditiously so that the culprits are brought to book and the innocent persons are not dragged unnecessarily while keeping the investigation pending for years together.
Justice Dhar recorded that in the impugned FIR, names of accused persons are not mentioned and obviously name of the petitioner-Malla does not figure therein. However, a perusal of the case diary reveals that there are statements of eye witnesses out of whom at least 3 witnesses have categorically named the petitioner-Malla as being part of the mob who set on fire the school building and the Panchayat Ghar. Therefore, it is not a case where there is no material on record of the case diary to suggest the involvement of the petitioner in the alleged crime.
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