FIR can't be quashed just because complainant is political rival: SC
New Delhi, April 23
A criminal case can’t be quashed solely on the ground that the complaint was filed by a political rival, the Supreme Court has ruled.
“In our considered opinion criminal proceedings cannot be nipped in the bud by exercise of jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC only because the complaint has been lodged by a political rival. It is possible that a false complaint may have been lodged at the behest of a political opponent. However, such possibility will not justify interference under Section 482 of the CrPC to quash the criminal proceedings,” a Bench led by Justice Indira Banerjee said.
The Bench refused to quash an FIR against former Sadabad MLA Ramveer Upadhyay booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Upadhyay first challenged the summons in the Allahabad High Court and sought quashing the proceedings, but the high court dismissed his plea in March 2022.
Now, the top court has also rejected Upadhyay’s petition seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings and the summons issued to him by a special court in September last year on a complaint filed by an employee of his political rival Devendra Aggarwal in Hathras district of UP during the Assembly poll in 2017.
Upadhyay, who had allegedly hurled casteist abuses on the complainant belonging to a Scheduled Caste, had contended that it was a case of political vendetta and the FIR against him lodged at the behest of Aggarwal.
“It is a well established proposition of law that a criminal prosecution, if otherwise justified and based upon adequate evidence, does not become vitiated on account of mala fides or political vendetta of the first informant or complainant,” the Bench noted.
“The instant complaint is not such a case which should be quashed at the inception itself without further trial. The allegations in the complaint, if established, could result in conviction under the relevant sub-sections of Section 3(1) of the Atrocities Act,” it said.
