The Supreme Court overruled an Allahabad High Court’s decision to dismiss a petition for quashing a First Information Report (FIR) as “infructuous” because the petitioner had been arrested, labeling the approach as “strange.”
In a significant judicial intervention, a bench comprising Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal overturned the High Court’s decision, which had dismissed the quashing petition without evaluating its merits. The apex court emphasized that the primary aim of the petition was to challenge the FIR itself, and therefore, the merits of the case needed thorough examination irrespective of the petitioner’s arrest status.
The controversy began when the Allahabad High Court was approached with a petition seeking to quash an FIR lodged under Section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 419 and 467 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The High Court, upon learning of the petitioner’s arrest, deemed the petition infructuous and dismissed it without a substantive hearing.
Justice Abhay Oka, during the proceedings, expressed perplexity over the High Court’s rationale, questioning how the arrest of the petitioner rendered the plea for quashing the FIR irrelevant. “How it becomes infructuous just because he was arrested? The prayer is for quashing the FIR. We will send it back. It is a very strange approach by the High Court,” Justice Oka noted.
In its order, the Supreme Court not only reinstated the petition but also set a date for its hearing at the Allahabad High Court, scheduled for October 14, 2024. Moreover, the Court affirmed that its interim order from August 9, 2024, which allowed the petitioner’s release, would remain in effect until the High Court re-evaluates the case.
Case Details:
Crl.A. No. 003907 / 2024
SLP(Crl) No. 010178 – / 2024
