HC quashes 49-yr FIR against septuagenarian

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 31

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed an FIR registered way back in 1975 against a now 78-year-old man after nearly five decades of proceedings. The court’s decision was driven by the unavailability of crucial records and the prolonged pendency of the case. The trial was adjourned in 1977, awaiting case file.

“The file could not travel from Ludhiana to Samrala for 49 years, with an average speed of one-sixth of the adorable sloth’s speed, and the distance of Samrala was roughly 44 km from Ludhiana,” Justice Anoop Chitkara asserted.

The court observed the matter after 1977 was not called again, and FIR was not closed, “its fate awaiting the file from the Sessions Judge, which did not come.” The Bench noted that the case, originating from an FIR registered on April 12, 1975, at Khanna police station in Ludhiana under Sections 353, 386, 342, 506 and 34 of the IPC, had not progressed due to the non-availability of records and a stalled investigation.

The petitioner’s grievance was that the trial against him was adjourned sine die but not finally closed. It did not result in discharge or acquittal and it appeared “there would be no chance of it in his lifetime”

The Bench added the petitioner, deeply frustrated by the deadlock, wanted the court to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to close the pending proceedings before the FIR’s golden jubilee.

The Bench observed that the FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint by a bailiff of Samrala Sub Judge. He had alleged an assault while executing a warrant of possession. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the trial had been pending since 1975, not due to the petitioner’s fault but due to the trial court’s decision to summon an additional accused, whose summoning order was stayed by Ludhiana Additional Sessions Judge.