SHILLONG, July 13: The High Court of Meghalaya at Shillong has dismissed a petition filed by Ajit Das alias Avinash Das and three others seeking to quash an FIR registered at Shella police station earlier this year.
The single bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere held that prima facie offences under Sections 115(1)(2), 132, 121(1) and 3(5) of the BNS are disclosed and the FIR cannot be quashed on the basis of a compromise with the complainant, a police officer who is a public servant.
The FIR was lodged by SI Pradip Thapa of Bholaganj Police Check Post after receiving information that some persons at the limestone quarry owned by Avinash Das were brutally assaulting a suspected Bangladeshi national.
Thapa, along with other police personnel, found a Bolero vehicle illegally using a siren and about 30-35 persons at the spot. When police intervened to maintain peace, the owner obstructed and raised his hand to assault the officer on duty. The other petitioners continued assaulting the victim and prevented the police from rescuing the victim.
Observing that witness statements corroborated the allegations, the court held that quashing is not permissible in cases involving obstruction of a public servant and, on merits, a prima facie case exists. On merits, after perusing the FIR and the statements of witnesses, the Court found that prima facie the petitioners have committed the alleged offences. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed. The trial court has been directed to conduct the trial on its own merits uninfluenced by the observations made by the High Court.
