City police under judicial scanner

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 16

The functioning of the Jalandhar police has come under judicial scanner, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court taking cognisance of a petition alleging the registration of a second FIR on virtually the same set of allegations.

Taking up the petition filed against the State of Punjab and another respondent by Dalail Singh through counsel RS Bajaj, Justice Sudip Ahluwalia directed against the adoption of coercive steps against the petitioner. Justice Ahluwalia also put the State on notice for January 17 next.

In a petition filed by the Kapurthala resident Dalail Singh seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against him at Jalandhar with regard to fraud etc, Justice Sudip Ahluwalia put the State on notice and restrained them from taking any coercive action against the petitioner.

Bajaj submitted that an FIR was registered against the petitioner in 2013 at Navi Baradari on the basis of false and frivolous allegations of fraud regarding the sale of land situated in Jallowal village in Jalandhar district.

The police had already presented charge-sheet or challan under Section 173 of the CrPC in connection with the FIR. The trial was currently going on. The impugned FIR, dated October 17, was filed by the complainant against the petitioner and others at Kartarpur in Jalandhar after suppressing the fact that an earlier FIR on virtually the same set of allegations was filed by him on February 1, 2013.

Referring to the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India, Bajaj submitted that two separate FIRs could not be registered with regard to the same offence. As such, the second FIR on the same very allegations could not have been lodged.

Bajaj further contended that the continuance of the proceedings in pursuance to the second FIR was a glaring instance of abuse of the process of law. The complainant got lodged the FIR by exercising his influence over the police. The police also did not conduct a proper inquiry and hurriedly registered the FIR, ignoring the petitioner’s plea that a case on the same allegations stood registered. As such, even the police was openly siding with the complainant.