Nafr High Court
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:14009-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRMP No. 1031 of 2025 1. Sujeet Kumar Jha S/o Uday Chand Jha Aged About 33 Years R/o Near Shiv Temple, P 1410, Dandiya Palli, Gopapalli, Sundergarh, Jhartarang (Odisha) 2. Sharad Poddar S/o Pawan Poddar Aged About 38 Years R/o House No. 13, C.H. Area Near Flavor Of South Restaurant, Post and P.S. Sonari, Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum, Jharkhand. 3. Nitin Bhalotia Alias Chintu S/o Suresh Bhalotia Aged About 39 Years R/o 2 Ramtekri Road, Jugsalai, Near Agrasen Bhawan, Post Jugsalai, Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum, Jharkhand. 4. Chandan Mittal S/o Shambhu Prasad Aged About 47 Years R/o House No. 13, Bank Colony, Beside Bhatia Park, Post And P.S. Kadma, Kadma, Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum, Jharkhand. ... Petitioner(s) versus 1. State of Chhattisgarh Through P.S. Bilha, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 2. Deva Sahu S/o Dular Sahu Aged About 29 Years R/o Village Amerikapa, P.S. Bilha, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. ...Respondents BRIJMOHAN MORLE Digitally signed by BRIJMOHAN MORLE Date: 2025.03.25 10:38:00 +0530 2 For Petitioners For Respondent/State : :
Legal Reasoning
Mr. Priyank Rathi, Advocate. Mr. Shailendra Sharma, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge
Decision
Order on Board Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice 24 .03.2025 1. Heard Mr. Priyank Rathi, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. Shailendra Sharma, learned Panel Lawyer, appearing for respondent No. 1/State. 2. The present petition under Section 528 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, ‘BNSS’) has been filed by the petitioners for quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) dated 11.09.2023 registered at Police Station Bilha, District Bilaspur (C.G.) in Crime No. 403 of 2023 for the offences punishable under Sections 363, 364-A, 384, 294, 323, 506 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the petitioners. 3. Brief facts of the case are that the complainant/respondent No. 2 registered an FIR against the petitioners to the effect that on the evening of 29.08.2023, at about 7-8 p.m., two individuals came to his house and were talking to his mother. They claimed that Dular Sahu, who is the father of complainant is very ill and stated that they have been sent by Vanraj Steel Plant. Further, it has been stated by the complainant that 3 they asked to keep sum of Rs. 2 lakh, Bank passbooks, and other documents, and told the complainant to come with them. And when they reached Bilaspur Railway Station, the two individuals abandoned the complainant and kept Rs. 2 lakhs with them and boarded him in the train for Jharkhand. The complainant alleges that, upon reaching Jharkhand, a car came to receive him and took him to Jaimangla Private Limited plant in Vishnupur, where his father Dular Sahu was already present. The complainant alleged that his father was beaten so severely that he was unable to walk properly. Further, it has been alleged that both, the complainant and his father were assaulted, and his father Dular Sahu was forced to sign on several papers. They were then held hostage and beaten up daily from 30.08.2023 to 06.09.2023, and on 06.09.2023, they were taken to the Police Station, from where he managed to escape and fled to Puri, later reached Durg, and eventually went to his maternal uncle's house in Ghursena, and informed his uncle that his father has been held hostage in his quarter. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the FIR lodged by the respondent No. 2/complainant is an afterthought and motivated FIR with ulterior motive to counter the earlier FIR bearing Crime No. 235 of 2023 lodged against complainant's father (Dular Ram Sahu) on 04.09.2023 for the commission of offences under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471, 504, 506 and 120-B of the IPC before Police Station, Bistopur, Jharkhand. He also submits that in the FIR registered by Kunal Bhalotia, brother of petitioner No. 3, it has been alleged that Dular Ram Sahu, who was working in the post of Deputy General Manager Quality Control in the M/s Vanraj Steel Plant has cheated the Company in connivance with the 4 owners of GSR Enterprises from where M/s Vanraj Steel Plant bought coal. It has been alleged that Dular Ram Sahu passes the consignment of low-grade quality of coal of GSR Enterprises and caused loss of Rs. 11 Crore to M/s Vanraj Steels by way of cheating and for the same he has received illegal gratification of Rs. 8,00,000/- which he has also admitted and given in writing in a piece of paper. 5. It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that due to that deceitful act of Dular Sahu, the Company suffered a huge loss and damage, and therefore, an FIR was lodged against him and other co- accused persons before PS Bistopur Jharkhand and in order to coerce the petitioners and counter the complaint lodged by brother of petitioner No. 3 against them, the present FIR bearing Crime No. 403 of 2023 has been lodged by his son Deva Sahu on a false, frivolous and fictitious grounds which is also done after thought, and therefore, it has no veracity. He further contended that the present FIR is nothing, but a gross abuse of process of law because it is contrary to the facts that the complainant and his father were taken to the Police Station on 06.09.2023 as per the complainant, however, on the said date the complainant and his father did not chose to speak anything against the petitioners even when they have been brought to the Police Station and he also did not disclose how and why they were brought which itself shows that it was them who had committed a serious financial fraud with the Company and false allegation are levelled by the complainant in his complaint which clearly amounts to abuse of process of law. 6. It is further contended by the learned counsel for the petitioners that the complainant has stated that he fled from there and boarded a train and 5 thereafter, he went to Puri and from there he returned to Ghursena, it is pertinent to mention that if the complainant and his father were really held hostage and beaten up and thereafter taken to Police Station, it would not have been possible for them to escape. There is also no murmur of the complainant lodging a complaint to the Police or other superior authorities if he was brought on 06.09.2023 to the Police Station itself which also shows that lodging of the FIR on 11.09.2023 and that too in Chhattisgarh when the place of offence allegedly was Jamshedpur and with so much delay is merely an afterthought. Hence, it is humbly submitted that the FIR lodged by complainant is completely fabricated and false and with ulterior motive which has been falsely lodged on the instruction of his father Dular Ram Sahu. He also contended that the present FIR has been lodged in order to coerce the petitioners and to escape from the liability to compensate the loss caused to the petitioners' institution due to deceitful act of complainant's father Dular Ram Sahu, therefore, the allegations levelled in the aforesaid compliant are not true and is totally an abuse of process of law and the same has been registered in order to illegally settle scores. He would submit that that this Court vide order dated 06.02.2025 in MCRCA No. 162 of 2025 has already been granted anticipatory bail to the petitioners. Hence, this petition. 7. On the other hand, learned Panel Lawyer appearing for the respondent/State opposes this petition and submits that perusal of impugned FIR discloses commission of cognizable offences and investigation is still in progress, therefore, no interference is warranted at this stage. 8. We have heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the 6 impugned FIR, prayers, pleadings and documents appended thereto. 9. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and from perusal of the impugned FIR, it is apparent that the FIR has been lodged on 11.09.2023 and even after passing of near about 01 year 07 months, no action has been taken on the FIR, we direct the concerned Superintendent of Police / Senior Superintendent of Police to ensure that the investigation of the present case be concluded expeditiously preferably within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order, if already not concluded and submit a Police Report under Section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C. (now under Section 193(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) before the competent Court in accordance with law. 10. Learned State counsel is directed to furnish a copy of this order to the concerned Superintendent of Police / Senior Superintendent of Police for necessary information and compliance forthwith. 11. With the aforementioned observations/directions, present petition is is disposed off. Sd/-Sd/- Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Judge Brijmohan