High Court · 2025

of Nainit al Milk Union, and Mr. Savin Bansal ( I AS) . That t he said writ pet it ion cam e t o be wit hdrawn on 30.11.2023 wit h libert y t o file a fresh pet it ion. That t he present pet it ion is on account of lat est incident of at t ack m ount ed on t he pet it ioner, and t hat he harbours a reasonable apprehension of danger t o his life.

3. I t is t he case of t he pet it ioner t hat he is a social worker and has raised issues of corrupt ion, m isuse of public funds, lack of basic am enit ies for public and ot her m at t ers of public int erest . That t he pet it ioner has preferred various Public I nt erest Lit igat ions and int ervent ion applicat ions before t he Hon’ble High Court highlight ing m ass level corrupt ion in m ining sect or, m ilk cont am inat ion in Ut t arakhand Cooperat ive Dairy Federat ion and issue of undue benefit given t o st one crushers by waiving t he heavy fines im posed t hem . That t he pet it ioner is an RTI act ivist and whist leblower against corrupt ion and has also cont est ed elect ion of Zilla Panchayat in 2014 and t he Legislat ive Assem bly in 2012. Since last 15 years t he pet it ioner has been obt aining inform at ion about t he various schem es, and m ore part icularly, t he illegal m ining and corrupt ion const ruct ion agencies of t he St at e, Nat ional Highway scam , OTS scam in m ining, illegal prom ot ions in m ining depart m ent et c. That he has preferred a Writ Pet it ion ( PI L) 2 No. 127 of 2023, seeing for prot ect ion of villages from floods in t he ent ire St at e, and t hat he has sought dredging of t he rivers in t he St at e. That som e of t he issues raised by him before t he Court flout ing of t he rules by Dist rict Magist rat es and exem pt ing t he im posed on illegal m ining. That t he exem pt ion was done under t he garb of one t im e set t lem ent schem e t hus causing revenue loss of m ore t han 200 crores t o t he St at e Exchequer. The ot her issue raised by him , rat her his wife, by way of a Writ Pet it ion ( M/ S) No. 787 of 2020, is t he perm ission grant ed by t he t hen Dist rict Magist rat e t o conduct m ining wit hin 10 Km periphery of Nandhaur Wild Life Sanct uary cont rary t o t he j udgm ent s of t he NGT. That t he pet it ion was filed in t he nam e of his wife Sm t . Kam la Pokhariya. That enquiry have been init iat ed by t he Governm ent and despit e t he passage of 03 years no progress has been m ade. That he had also sought for an invest igat ion int o t he corrupt pract ices of t he Nainit al Milk Union Lalkuan, and in t his regard he has also approached t he Hon’ble Chief Minist er on 23.08.2023 seeking act ion against t he corrupt office bearers of Nainit al Milk Union.

4. We have perused t he com pilat ion in Annexure- 9, which is an order- sheet in Writ Pet it ion ( PI L) No. 186 of 2024, wherein t he present pet it ioner has m ade applicat ion as an int ervent ionist , and has been direct ed t o file t he sam e by 3 way of an affidavit . The next order- sheet is in Writ Pet it ion ( PI L) No. 112 of 2024, wherein t he pet it ioner has been direct ed t o delet e t he respondent Nos. 5 and 6 from array of t he part ies. We do not see any com pliance of t he direct ion of t he order dat ed 09.10.2023, direct ing him t o file an affidavit .

5. One m ore order- sheet is in Writ Pet it ion ( Crim inal) No. 707 of 2024, wherein he sought a direct ion t o t he DGP Ut t arakhand t o decide t he applicat ion dat ed 15.01.2023. The said writ pet it ion cam e t o be rej ect ed on 19.07.2024 by giving libert y t o pet it ioner t o approach t he St at e Police Com plaint Aut horit y. Yet again, t he pet it ioner has com e up wit h t he inst ant writ pet it ion seeking for a sim ilar relief.

6. Be t hat as it m ay, t he present writ pet it ion is prem ised on a set narrat ion by t he pet it ioner. I t is his case t hat he was t raveling on 15.12.2024 and t raversing t he Chorgaliya- Haldwani road, and when he reached t he st ret ch which is a forest area at Danibangar, his vehicle a Marut i Swift car, was overt aken by a black Scorpio which did not have any regist rat ion plat es, and t hat t wo people got down from t he Scorpio and t hey assault ed t he window- pane on t he door on t he driver seat wit h a “ t alwar” ( sword) and t he windowpane broke int o pieces. That t he assault on t he window was carried out by a sword, and t hat as t here is no connect ivit y 4 at t he said spot , he drove back t o t he police st at ion and t hereaft er inform ed his relat ive et c. That his wife and daught er, who were occupying t he car, went int o a shock. That t he pet it ioner was also accom panied by a relat ive and a com panion at t he t im e when t he vehicle was assault ed by t wo unknown persons. That he could not ident ify t he persons as t heir faces were covered wit h m asks. That he was able t o escape from t he hands of t he at t ackers as he sensed t rouble, and he rushed his car, and t he at t ackers could only give blows on t he pet it ioner’s car result ing in several dent s on his car and a broken windowpane. That t he pet it ioner’s wife and daught er shocked by t he sudden at t ack becam e unconscious, and t hat he reached Chorgaliya police st at ion and lodged an FI R on 15.12.2024.

7. Yest erday during t he course of hearing, we have queried as t o whet her any at t em pt s were m ade t o phot ograph eit her t he vehicle or t he assailant s, t o which t he pet it ioner had replied t hat as t here was no signal or connect ivit y in t he said spot , and also in view of t he suddenness of t he at t ack, t he occupant s of t he car did not t hink of eit her capt uring phot ographs of eit her t he vehicle or t he assailant s. That t hey m anaged t o ret urn t o t he police st at ion wit h great difficult y. 5

8. I t is com m on knowledge t hat t he cam era in a phone does not depend on t he connect ivit y or signals for operat ion of t he cam era inst alled in t he m obile phone. Yest erday when we asked him t o show t he pict ures and t he videos on his m obile phone, t he pet it ioner despit e t he passage of m ore t han 15- 20 m inut es, and despit e t he m at t er being adj ourned, did not place t he relevant phot ographs or videos on t he phone.

9. Today he produces t he sam e phone and he has opened t he What sApp chat of a person nam ed Pankaj Bhat t , who he claim s forwarded t he videos and phot ographs. On a query, he would subm it t hat t he said person is a news report er. On a query as t o how t he news report er cam e t o know about t he at t ack, and as t o how t he said person was at t he police st at ion on t im e, he would subm it t hat he is not aware but would st at e t hat several report ers had already gat hered before he could reach t he police st at ion.

10. We have exam ined t he phot o and also t he report subm it t ed by t he aut horit ies aft er an exam inat ion of t he car. On an exam inat ion of t he phot o it reflect s t he collect ion of pieces of glass on t he driver’s seat . I t is apparent t hat t he assault on t he windowpane would not have been by a sword for t he window panes are m ade of t em pered glass, and unless excessive force wit h an obj ect wit h a larger surface 6 area is used, t he chances of t he t em pered glass breaking int o pieces appears t o be m inim al, and assum ing t hat t he driver seat was occupied, t he force wit h which t he glass pane is broken t o pieces is likely t o have t he im pact of t he pieces of t he glass st riking t he face or body of t he occupant , and t here is every chance t hat m aj orit y of t he glass pieces would have im pact ed t he body of t he occupant in t he driver seat , and would not have collect ed on t he seat . The collect ion of t he ent ire pieces of t he broken windowpane on t he driver seat would prim a facie suggest t hat t he seat was not occupied when t he windowpane was broken. This prim a facie opinion of ours forces us t o disbelieve t he pet it ioners version.

11. That apart , t he opinion of t he aut horit y which exam ined t he car is t hat t he dent s on t he vehicle, one on t he rear and one on t he window, do not suggest t he use of a sword. That apart , t he video would show his daught er in an orient ed st at e and t he wife sit t ing in t he police st at ion. That apart , t here is no m at erial t o show t hat t he pet it ioner has t aken up cudgels against t he high and m ight y, t hough he has arrayed t he high and m ight y, including t he occupant of t he highest execut ive office of t he St at e, and also several officers. That apart , despit e several quest ions, t he pet it ioner has been narrat ing t he sam e answers. Despit e our 7 repeat ed int ervent ion t o rest rain him self t o t he quest ion t hat is posed t o him , t he pet it ioner has cont inued wit h t he parrot ing of his version and m ade no effort t o answer t he queries raised by t he Court . I t is apparent t hat t he pet it ioner is t rying t o browbeat t he Court , and t he com plaint rings hollow. I n fact , we have also viewed t he video said t o have been collect ed by him from t he video cam era of a hot el.

12. On a query, t he learned Deput y Advocat e General would subm it t hat t he videos were not shared by t he hot elier wit h t he pet it ioner but on t he cont rary, t he video recording of t he sam e was done by t he pet it ioner when t he I .O. was viewing t he videos recorded in t he hard disc. The com plaint does not even describe as t o what t ype of clot hing t he assailant s were wearing, and t he vehicle t hat he would show as having used t o assault him , would be seen going in t he opposit e direct ion, t o t he direct ion he was t raveling. All t hese inaccuracies and t he gaping hole in his t heory of him being followed and at t acked ringing hollow, t he sam e does not inspire confidence in t his Court .

13. That apart , t he pet it ioner has been filing repeat ed pet it ions arraying persons occupying high post s wit hout alleging any specific role or leveling any specific allegat ions, nor has he placed any m at erial t o dem onst rat e t hat he has 8 collect ed incrim inat ing m at erial which would indict any of t hem . I t appears t hat it is a habit wit h t he pet it ioner t o beat his drum and creat e noises wit hout t here being any subst ance t o back his allegat ions. The allegat ions ring hollow because t he so called PI Ls are not prem ised on any concret e m at erial m uch less any evidence which would necessit at e any of t he persons holding high office t o t hreat en him or t o harm him .

14. Be t hat as it m ay, t he FI R having been regist ered and t he sam e having been invest igat ed, and t he police having prepared a report , and t he report having been subm it t ed wit h t he Magist rat e court it is open for t he pet it ioner t o pursue his rem edies before t he Magist rat e court . The pet it ion apart from repeat ing bald allegat ions and not being backed by any specific m at erial, we do not see any cause t o ret ain t he pet it ion on board. The allegat ions, prim a facie, do not appear t o have any subst ance and in t hat regard t he present writ pet it ion requires t o be rej ect ed, and is, accordingly, rej ect ed.

15. The above observat ions are for t he purposes of t his pet it ion only and it is open for t he Jurisdict ional Court t o consider t he case on m erit s wit hout being influenced by t he observat ions m ade by t his Court . 9

16. The Copy of t he final report placed before t his Court be ret urned back t o t he DAG. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ G. N A REN D A R, C.J. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A LOK M A H RA , J. Dt : 24 TH APRI L, 2025 Negi HIMANS HU NEGI DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=bb3b60774012c1ef1dae20d13a af116e73351fdaf6878326386908a7f90d5 757, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=75BD9D0FB7F4A80990FC 51A722A6BC552D470EB4FD2F88DDF7C1 8DB2A1524A4D, cn=HIMANSHU NEGI 10