Virendra Kumar Pandey vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:32040
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH

AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE B. P. SHARMA
th
ON THE 8 OF APRIL, 2026
WRIT PETITION No. 49510 of 2025
VIRENDRA KUMAR PANDEY
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS
Appearance:
Shri Aseem Trivedi - Advocate for the petitioner.
Shri A.S. Baghel - Government Advocate for the State.
Shri Sushil Kumar Tiwari - Advocate for the respondents No.6 to 10.

ORDER
The present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
has been instituted by the petitioner seeking judicial intervention against the
arbitrary, perfunctory, and mechanical action of the police authorities in
registering FIR No.487/2025 at Police Station Omti, District Jabalpur, in
patent disregard of the directions issued by the competent court under
Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. The grievance of the petitioner is not directed
merely against the factum of registration of the FIR, but more significantly
against the manner in which it has been recorded. The FIR, as it stands, is
vague, sketchy and materially incomplete and appears to have been
consciously drafted in a manner that dilutes the substance of the allegations,
thereby frustrating the very object of a fair, impartial and effective
investigation into serious allegations of forgery.
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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2. The facts, as borne out from the record, indicate that the petitioner,

an employee serving in the District Court at Jabalpur, was made a victim of a
well-orchestrated and deliberate conspiracy allegedly hatched by the private
respondents, who are closely related to him. In pursuance of the said
conspiracy, it is alleged that judicial records were fabricated and manipulated
with the ulterior object of securing an ex-parte acquittal in Criminal Revision
No.523/2019. On discovering the aforesaid acts of forgery and manipulation
of court records, the petitioner approached the Registrar General of the High
Court, which led to the institution of a preliminary inquiry. The said inquiry
was conducted by the District Judge (IV), Jabalpur, and culminated in a
report dated 13.09.2023 (Annexure P/2), wherein prima facie material was
found to exist indicating the involvement of the accused persons in the
alleged acts of forgery. Acting upon the said findings, the Principal District
& Sessions Judge, Jabalpur, vide communication dated 22.09.2023, accorded
permission to the petitioner to initiate appropriate criminal proceedings in
accordance with law.
3. Despite submitting repeated representations and requests to the
concerned police authorities, no First Information Report was registered,
leaving the petitioner with no efficacious alternative but to invoke the
jurisdiction of the learned JMFC, Jabalpur, under Section 156(3) of the
Cr.P.C. Upon due consideration, the learned Magistrate, by a reasoned order
dated 12.07.2025 (Annexure P/4), directed the Station House Officer, Police
Station Omti, to register an FIR by duly incorporating the material
particulars and findings emerging from the preliminary inquiry and thereafter
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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to proceed strictly in accordance with law.

4. The aforesaid order was duly received by the police authorities on
13.08.2025; however, the same was not acted upon within a reasonable time
and remained uncomplied with for a considerable period, without any lawful
justification. It was only on 24.09.2025 and notably in close proximity to the
initiation of contempt proceedings by the petitioner, that an FIR bearing
No.487/2025 (Annexure P/5) was eventually registered. However, the
manner in which the said FIR was recorded renders the compliance merely
illusory. The FIR is patently deficient, bereft of essential and material
particulars and does not faithfully reflect the substance of the allegations or
the findings recorded in the preliminary inquiry. It fails to clearly disclose the
commission of cognizable offences in definite terms, thereby undermining
the very object and intent of the Magistrate’s direction, and frustrating the
initiation of a fair, meaningful and effective investigation. The FIR, rather
than faithfully capturing the substance of the allegations and the material
findings recorded in the preliminary inquiry, is confined to a bare recital of
procedural background. It conspicuously omits crucial and germane facts,
and further contains inaccurate and vague particulars, including the addresses
of the accused persons. Such deficiencies go to the root of the matter and
have the effect of vitiating the very foundation of the investigation, rendering
it ineffective and illusory from its very inception. The subsequent conduct of
the police authorities further manifests a patent lack of bona fides and due
diligence. No sincere or meaningful investigation appears to have been
undertaken in compliance with the mandate of law. Significantly, even the
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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statement of the petitioner has not been recorded under Section 161 of

Cr.P.C., which is a basic and indispensable step in the investigative process.
Moreover, the defective and diluted nature of the FIR has enabled the
accused persons to obtain anticipatory bail, thereby frustrating the course of
a fair, impartial, and effective investigation and undermining the
administration of criminal justice.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned FIR
(Annexure P/5) is a mere sham and has been registered in a wholly
perfunctory and mechanical manner, with the sole intent of creating a facade
of compliance with the order passed under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. It is
contended that the statutory mandate, as well as the specific directions issued
by the learned Magistrate, obligated the police authorities to register an FIR
that truly and faithfully reflected the substance of the complaint and the
findings recorded in the preliminary inquiry. However, in blatant disregard,
the police authorities have consciously diluted and distorted the contents of
the FIR so as to avoid disclosing the commission of cognizable offences
against the accused persons. It is further submitted that such conduct is
neither inadvertent nor a mere irregularity, but a deliberate exercise
undertaken with oblique motives. By omitting material particulars and
incorporating vague and incorrect details, the police authorities have
effectively rendered the FIR toothless, thereby stultifying the very process of
investigation at the threshold. This, it is urged, strikes at the root of the rule
of law and the fair administration of criminal justice, inasmuch as it results in
shielding the accused persons from due process and frustrates the petitioner’s
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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legitimate right to a fair, impartial and effective investigation.

6. It is further submitted that the FIR (Annexure P/5) has been
recorded in undue haste and in a routine, mechanical manner, without any
proper application of mind and in clear breach of the settled principles
governing the registration of First Information Reports. The intentional
inclusion of incorrect addresses of the accused persons, along with the
omission of essential and material particulars, prima facie indicates malafide
intent on the part of the concerned police officer, aimed at derailing the
investigation and affording unwarranted benefit to the accused persons. It is
further contended that such disregard of the judicial directions issued under
Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. strikes at the very core of the rule of law and
undermines the authority of the Court. An FIR which does not clearly
disclose the commission of a cognizable offence is legally unsustainable.
Accordingly, it is urged that the impugned FIR is liable to be set aside, with
a direction to the concerned authorities to undertake a fresh registration in
strict adherence to the mandate of the learned Magistrate and to ensure a fair,
impartial and effective investigation in accordance with law.
7. The respondents submit that the FIR ( Annexure P/5) has been
duly registered in compliance with the order under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C.
and at this stage, the law only requires disclosure of a prima facie cognizable
offence. An FIR is not expected to be exhaustive or to contain all details of
the complaint or the inquiry report. It is furher contended that any alleged
omissions, inaccuracies or lack of particulars do not vitiate the FIR or the
investigation, as these aspects can be addressed during the course of
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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investigation. The investigating agency is competent to collect evidence,

record statements, and bring all relevant facts on record subsequently. It is
further argued that there is no mala fide intention, and any errors in
particulars, such as addresses, are inadvertent and curable. The petitioner, in
effect, seeks to treat the FIR as a detailed charge-sheet, which is
impermissible. It is also argued that there has been substantial compliance
with the Magistrate’s order and the writ petition is premature and not
maintainable, particularly when alternative remedies are available before the
Magistrate for monitoring the investigation. Prays for dismissal of the
petition.
8. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon a careful
perusal of the material available on record, this Court is of the considered
view that the controversy involved is not confined merely to the factum of
registration of an FIR, but extends to the question as to whether such
registration constitutes a genuine and faithful compliance with the judicial
mandate issued under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. The record reveals that
the learned Magistrate vide order Annexure P/4, had specifically directed the
registration of an FIR incorporating the material particulars and findings
emerging from the preliminary inquiry, which had already disclosed prima
facie involvement of the accused persons in the alleged acts of forgery.
However, the FIR (Annexure P/5) as registered falls short of the said
mandate. It is noticeably deficient, as it neither reflects the substance of the
allegations contained in the complaint nor incorporates the material findings
recorded in the inquiry report. Furthermore, it remains silent on the essential
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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ingredients of the alleged offences, thereby raising serious concerns

regarding the adequacy and authenticity of compliance with the order of the
learned Magistrate.
9. The manner in which the FIR (Annexure P/5) has been recorded
reflects a clear lack of due application of mind and gives rise to a reasonable
inference that it has been registered merely as a formality, with a view to
avoid the consequences of non-compliance with the judicial directions. The
omission of material and relevant facts, coupled with the incorporation of
incorrect particulars, particularly in respect of the addresses of the accused
persons, cannot be treated as a minor or curable irregularity. On the contrary,
such deficiencies strike at the very root of the matter and substantially impair
the efficacy of the FIR as a foundation for a fair and meaningful
investigation. Such an approach not only frustrates the object underlying
Section 154 of the Cr.P.C., which mandates proper recording of information
relating to cognizable offences, but also undermines the sanctity and binding
nature of the judicial order passed under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C.,
thereby eroding the discipline expected in the administration of criminal
justice.
10. The purported compliance, in the facts and circumstances of the
present case, is merely illusory and does not satisfy the mandate of the order
passed by the learned Magistrate. What has been undertaken by the police
authorities appears to be a superficial and formal exercise, lacking in
substance and fidelity to the directions issued. It is well settled that
compliance with a judicial order must be real, effective and meaningful,
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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reflecting a genuine application of mind and adherence to both the letter and

spirit of the direction. A mere mechanical or cosmetic exercise, undertaken
only to create a semblance of compliance on record, cannot be recognized as
lawful compliance. Such an approach not only defeats the purpose of the
judicial order but also undermines the authority of the Court and the integrity
of the legal process.
11. This Court is of the considered opinion that compliance with a
judicial direction cannot be reduced to a mere ritual or empty formality.
Once a direction is issued by a competent Magistrate, the police authorities
are under a legal obligation to act not only in letter but also in the true spirit
of such order. Any departure therefrom, particularly where it results in
dilution or suppression of the substance of the allegations, cannot be
approved in law. In the present case, the FIR, as registered, is cryptic,
materially incomplete, and appears to have been recorded in undue haste
without due application of mind. It fails to clearly disclose the commission
of any cognizable offence and does not reflect the substance of the complaint
or the findings of the preliminary inquiry. In such circumstances, the FIR
cannot be said to constitute a valid or meaningful compliance with the
judicial mandate and, therefore, cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.
12. In view of the foregoing discussion and analysis, this Court is of
the considered opinion that the present petition deserves to be allowed and is
accordingly allowed.
13. Consequently, FIR No.487/2025 registered at Police Station
Omti, District Jabalpur, is hereby quashed and set aside. The Station House
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM

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Officer, Police Station Omti, Jabalpur is directed to register a fresh FIR in

strict and faithful compliance with the order (Annexure P/4) passed by the
learned Magistrate under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. The fresh FIR shall
duly incorporate all material facts, relevant particulars and the findings
emerging from the preliminary inquiry, so as to ensure that the allegations
are properly reflected and a fair, impartial and effective investigation is
undertaken in accordance with law. The concerned police authorities are
further directed to ensure scrupulous adherence to the judicial mandate and
to proceed with the investigation with due diligence, fairness and objectivity
without being influenced by any observations made in this order except to
the extent of ensuring compliance.
14. The petitioner shall be at liberty to avail appropriate remedies in
case of any further grievance regarding the investigation.
Certified copy as per rules.
(B. P. SHARMA)
JUDGE
@shish^

Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ASHISH KUMAR
JAIN
Signing time: 4/25/2026
1:10:52 PM