Full Judgment Text
1
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
| AL APPE | LLATE JU |
|---|---|
Km. Hema Mishra .. Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. and Others .. Respondents
J U D G M E N T
K. S. RADHAKRISHNAN, J.
JUDGMENT
1. Leave granted.
2. Appellant herein had invoked the extraordinary
jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India seeking the following reliefs:
i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of
Certiorari thereby quashing the impugned FIR dated
21.12.2011, contained in Annexure No. 1 to this writ
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petition, lodged at crime No. 797/11 under Sections
419/420 IPC, at Police Station Zaidpur, District
Barabanki;
| ereby d<br>nki, the | irecting<br>opposit |
|---|
iii) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of
Mandamus thereby directing the Superintendent of
Police, Barabanki, the opposite party No. 2, for
compliance of the provision of Sections 41(1)(b) and
41A CrPC in the investigation of the impugned FIR
dated 21.12.2011 contained in Annexure No. 1 to this
writ petition, lodged in crime No. 797/11, under
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Sections 419/420 IPC, Zaidpur, District Barabanki; and
iv) Allow this writ petition with costs.
3. The High Court, after hearing the parties as well as the
State, dismissed the writ petition on 9.1.2012 and passed
the following order:
“Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned Additional Government Advocate. Under
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| me cann<br>merit and | ot be<br>is acco |
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However, the petitioner being lady, it is
provided that if she surrenders and moves
application for bail the same shall be considered
and decided by the courts below expeditiously.”
4. The appellant, complaining that she was falsely
implicated in the case, has approached this Court
contending that the High Court had failed to exercise its
certiorari jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India in not quashing the FIR dated 21.12.2011 and in
refusing to grant anticipatory bail to the appellant. Appellant
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submitted that the High Court ought to have issued a writ of
mandamus directing the Superintendent of Police, Barabanki
to defer the arrest of the appellant until the collection of
credible evidence sufficient for filing the charge-sheet,
following the amended proviso to Section 41(1)(b) read with
Section 41A Cr.P.C.
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5. The Secretary, U.P. Secondary Education Board,
Allahabad and the District School Inspector vide their letter
dated 8.12.2011 registered a complaint alleging that the
| mitted fr | aud and |
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preparation of documents of Government Office regarding
selection for the post of Assistant Teacher and,
consequently, got appointment as the Assistant Teacher in
Janpad Inter-College at Harakh, District Barabanki, with
payment of salary amounting to Rs.1,10,000/- from the
Government exchequer. On the basis of the FIR, Case
Crime No. 797 of 2011 was registered under Sections
419/420 IPC before the Police Station, Jaizpur, District
Barabanki. After having come to know of the registration of
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the crime, the appellant filed a representation on 27.12.2011
before the Superintendent of Police, District Barabanki and
the Investigating Officer making the following prayer:
“As such through this application/representation
the applicant prays that keeping in view the
willingness of the applicant for cooperating in
investigation and to appear before the
investigating officer upon being called in case
crime no. 797/11 u/Ss 419/420 IPC, PS Jaipdur,
District Barabanki, order for staying the arrest of
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applicant be passed so that compliance to the
provision 41(1)(B) Section 41(A) amended to CrPC
1973 be made.”
| ellant di | d not g |
|---|
the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
by filing Writ Petition Misc. Bench No. 171 of 2012 which was
dismissed, as already indicated, on 9.1.2012.
7. When the matter came up for hearing before this Court,
it passed an interim order on 1.3.2013, the operative portion
of which reads as under:
“Considering the facts and circumstances of
the case, we are inclined to direct that in the
event of arrest of the petitioner, she shall be
released on bail on furnishing personal bond of
Rs.50,000/- (Fifty Thousand only) with two
solvent sureties for the like amount to the
satisfaction of the Trial Court, subject to the
condition that she will join investigation as and
when required and shall abide by the provisions
of Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure.”
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8. Shri Aseem Chandra, learned counsel appearing for the
appellant, submitted that the High Court has committed an
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error in not quashing the FIR, since the registration of the
crime was with mala fide intention to harass the appellant
and in clear violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed
| under A | rticles |
|---|
Constitution of India. Learned counsel submitted that the
appellant was falsely implicated and that the ingredients of
the offence under Sections 419/420 IPC were not prima facie
made out for registering the crime. Learned counsel also
pointed out that the High Court has not properly appreciated
the scope of Sections 41(1)(b) and 41A CrPC, 1973 and that
no attempt has been made to follow those statutory
provisions by the State and its officials.
9. Shri Gaurav Bhatia, learned AAG, appearing for the
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State, submitted that the investigation was properly
conducted and the crime was registered. Further, it was
also pointed out that the President has also withheld the
assent of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Uttar Pradesh
Amendment) Bill, 2010, since the provisions of the Bill were
found to be in contravention to Section 438 of the Cr.P.C.
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and hence the High Court rightly declined the stay sought for
under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
| Luthra, | Addition |
|---|
in only rarest of rare cases grant pre-arrest bail while
exercising powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, since the provision for the grant of anticipatory bail
under Section 438 Cr.P.C. was consciously omitted by the
State Legislature. The legislative intention is, therefore, not
to seek or provide pre-arrest bail when the FIR discloses a
cognizable offence. Shri Luthra submitted that since there is
a conscious withdrawal/deletion of Section 438 CrPC by the
Legislature from the Code of Criminal Procedure, by Section
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9 of the Criminal Procedure (Uttar Pradesh) Amendment Act,
1976, the relief which otherwise the appellant could not
have obtained under the Code, is sought to be obtained
indirectly by invoking the writ jurisdiction of the High Court,
which is impermissible in law.
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11. Shri Luthra also submitted that since the appellant has
no legal right to move for anticipatory bail and that practice
is not an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution of
| ion that | the Hi |
|---|
examine the charges levelled against the appellant, was
mala fide or violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the
Constitution of India, does not arise. Shri Luthra also
submitted that the High Court was not correct in granting
further reliefs after having dismissed the writ petition and
that, only in extraordinary cases, the High Court could
exercise its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution
of India and the case in hand does not fall in that category.
12. I may indicate that the legal issues raised in this case
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are no more res integra . All the same, it calls for a relook
on certain aspects which I may deal with during the course
of the judgment.
13. I am conscious of the fact that since the provisions
similar to Section 438 Cr.P.C. being absent in the State of
Uttar Pradesh, the High Court is burdened with large number
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of writ petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India seeking pre-arrest bail. Section 438 was added to the
Code of Criminal Procedure in the year 1973, in pursuance to
| n made | by the 4 |
|---|
in the State of Uttar Pradesh by Section 9 Criminal
Procedure (Uttar Pradesh) Amendment Act, 1976, Section
438 was specifically omitted, the legality of which came up
for consideration before the Constitution Bench of this Court
in Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab (1994) 3 SCC 569 and
the Court held that the deletion of the application of Section
438 in the State of Uttar Pradesh by Section 9 of the above
mentioned Amendment Act does not offend either Article 14,
Article 19 or Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the
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State Legislature is competent to delete that section, which
is one of the matters enumerated in the concurrent list, and
such a deletion is valid under Article 254(2) of the
Constitution of India.
14. I notice, therefore, as per the Constitution Bench, a
claim for pre-arrest protection is neither a statutory nor a
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right guaranteed under Article 14, Article 19 or Article 21 of
the Constitution of India. All the same, in Karatar Singh’s
case (supra), this Court in sub-para (17) of Para 368, has
also stated as follows:
“368 xxx xxx xxx
(17) Though it cannot be said that
the High Court has no jurisdiction to
entertain an application for bail under
Article 226 of the Constitution and pass
orders either way, relating to the cases
under the Act 1987, that power should be
exercised sparingly, that too only in rare
and appropriate cases in extreme
circumstances. But the judicial discipline
and comity of courts require that the High
Courts should refrain from exercising the
extraordinary jurisdiction in such matters;
xxx xxx xxx”
JUDGMENT
15. The High Court of Allahabad has also taken the same
view in several judgments. Reference may be made to the
judgments in Satya Pal v. State of U.P. (2000 Cri.L.J. 569),
Ajeet Singh v. State of U.P. (2007 Cri.L.J. 170), Lalji
Yadav & Others v. State of U.P. & Another (1998 Cri.L.J.
2366), Kamlesh Singh v. State of U.P. & Another (1997
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Cri.L.J. 2705) and Natho Mal v. State of U.P. (1994 Cri.L.J.
1919).
| efore, no | concept |
|---|
Pradesh. In Balchand Jain v. State of M.P. (1976) 4 SCC
572, this Court observed that “anticipatory bail” is a
misnomer. Bail, by itself, cannot be claimed as a matter of
right under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, except for
bailable offences (Section 436 Cr.P.C., 1973). For non-
bailable offences, conditions are prescribed under Sections
437 and 439 Cr.P.C. The discretion to grant bail in non-
bailable offences remains with the Court and hence, it
cannot be claimed as a matter of right, but the aggrieved
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party can only seek a remedy and it is on the discretion of
the Court to grant it or not. In this connection reference may
also be made to the Judgment of the seven-Judge Bench of
the Allahabad High Court in Smt. Amarawati and Ors. V.
State of U.P. (2005) Cri.L.J. 755, wherein the Court, while
interpreting the provisions of Sections 41, 2(c) and 157(1)
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CrPC as well as the scope of Sections 437 and 439, held as
follows:
| view of | the abo |
| rred to th | e Full B |
| nch as follo<br>is disclosed<br>t of the ac | |
| questions referred to the Full Bench as f<br>(1) Even if cognizable offence is disclo<br>FIR or complaint the arrest of the<br>not a must, rather the police office<br>guided by the decision of the Sup<br>in Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P.,<br>1981 before deciding whether t<br>arrest or not.<br>(2) The High Court should ordinarily<br>any Subordinate Court to decid<br>application the same day, as tha<br>interfering with the judicial discre<br>Court hearing the bail application<br>as stated above, when the bail ap<br>under Section 437 Cr.P.C. ord<br>Magistrate should himself decid | nch as f<br>is disclo<br>t of the |
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(3) The decision in Dr. Vinod Narain v. State of
UP is incorrect and is substituted accordingly
by this judgment.”
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17. This Court in Lal Kamlendra Pratap Singh v. State
of Uttar Pradesh and Others (2009) 4 SCC 437, while
| ment in | Amar |
|---|
follows:
“6. Learned counsel for the appellant apprehends
that the appellant will be arrested as there is no
provision for anticipatory bail in the State of U.P.
He placed reliance on a decision of the Allahabad
High Court in Amarawati v. State of U.P. in which a
seven-Judge Full Bench of the Allahabad High
Court held that the court, if it deems fit in the facts
and circumstances of the case, may grant interim
bail pending final disposal of the bail application.
The Full Bench also observed that arrest is not a
must whenever an FIR of a cognizable offence is
lodged. The Full Bench placed reliance on the
decision of this Court in Joginder Kumar v. State of
U.P. (1994) 4 SCC 260.
JUDGMENT
7. We fully agree with the view of the High Court in
Amarawati case and we direct that the said
decision be followed by all courts in U.P. in letter
and spirit, particularly since the provision for
anticipatory bail does not exist in U.P.
8. In appropriate cases interim bail should be
granted pending disposal of the final bail
application, since arrest and detention of a person
can cause irreparable loss to a person’s
reputation, as held by this Court in Joginder Kumar
case . Also, arrest is not a must in all cases of
cognizable offences, and in deciding whether to
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arrest or not the police officer must be guided and
act according to the principles laid down in
Joginder Kumar case .”
| dge Ben | ch of this |
|---|
an order of the Karnataka High Court under Section 482
CrPC, one of the Judges made some strong observations as
well as recommendations to restore Section 438 in the State
of U.P. Learned Judges constituting the Bench also
expressed contrary views on certain legal issues, hence, the
matter was later placed before a three-Judge Bench, the
judgment of which is reported in same caption (2008) 3 SCC
574, wherein this Court opined that insofar as the
observations, recommendations and directions in paras 17 to
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39 of the concurrent judgment is concerned, they did not
relate to the subject matter of the criminal appeal and the
directions given were held to be obiter and were set aside.
19. I notice in this case FIR was lodged for offences, under
Sections 419 and 420 IPC which carry a sentence of
maximum of three years and seven years respectively with
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or without fine. Benefit of Section 41(a) Cr.P.C. must be
available in a given case, which provides that an
investigating officer shall not arrest the accused of such
| e mann | er and t |
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after following the restrictions imposed under Section 41(b).
The relevant provisions, as it stands now reads as follow:
“ 41. When police may arrest without
warrant.- (1) Any police officer may without an
order from a Magistrate and without a warrant,
arrest any person –
(a) who commits, in the presence of a
police officer, a cognizable offence;
(b) against whom a reasonable complaint
has been made, or credible information
has been received, or a reasonable
suspicion exists that he has committed a
cognizable offence punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may be less
than seven years or which may extend to
seven years whether with or without fine, if
the following conditions are satisfied,
namely:-
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(i) the police officer has reason to
believe on the basis of such
complaint, information, or suspicion
that such person has committed the
said offence;
(ii) the police officer is satisfied that
such arrest is necessary –
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| ) to<br>causing | prevent<br>the evid |
|---|
Provided that a police officer shall, in all
cases where the arrest of a person is not
required under the provisions of this sub-
section; record the reasons in writing for
not making the arrest.”
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20. Amended provisions make it compulsory for the police
to record the reasons for making arrest as well as for not
making an arrest in respect of a cognizable offence for which
the maximum sentence is upto seven years. Reference in
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this connection may also be made to Section 41A inserted
vide Act 5 of 2009 w.e.f. 01.11.2010, which reads as follows:
| The polic<br>st of a p | e office<br>erson is |
|---|
(2) Where such a notice is issued to any person, it
shall be the duty of that person to comply with the
terms of the notice.
(3) Where such person complies and continues to
comply with the notice, he shall not be arrested in
respect of the offence referred to in the notice
unless, for reasons to be recorded, the police
officer is of the opinion that he ought to be
arrested.
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(4) Where such person, at any time, fails to
comply with the terms of the notice or is unwilling
to identify himself, the police officer may, subject
to such orders as may have been passed by a
competent Court in this behalf, arrest him for the
offence mentioned in the notice.”
21. Above mentioned provisions make it compulsory for the
police to issue a notice in all such cases where arrest is not
required to be made under Clause (b) of sub-section (1) of
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the amended Section 41. But, all the same, unwillingness of
a person who has not been arrested to identify himself and
to whom a notice has been issued under Section 41A, could
| arrest. | Legislati |
|---|
parameters, warranting arrest of a person, which itself is a
check on arbitrary or unwarranted arrest and the right to
personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the
Constitution of India.
22. I may, however, point out that there is unanimity in the
view that in spite of the fact that Section 438 has been
specifically omitted and made inapplicable in the State of
Uttar Pradesh, still a party aggrieved can invoke the
jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the
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Constitution of India, being extraordinary jurisdiction and the
vastness of the powers naturally impose considerable
responsibility in its application. All the same, the High Court
has got the power and sometimes duty in appropriate cases
to grant reliefs, though it is not possible to pin-point what
are the appropriate cases, which have to be left to the
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wisdom of the Court exercising powers under Article 226 of
the Constitution of India.
| d with t | he situa |
|---|
Constitution of India, while examining the challenge for
quashing the FIR or a charge-sheet, whether the High Court
could grant further relief against arrest for a specific period
or till the completion of the trial. This Court in State of
Orissa v. Madan Gopal Rungta reported in AIR 1952 SC
12, while dealing with the scope of Article 226 of the
Constitution, held as follows :-
“Article 226 cannot be used for the purpose of
giving interim relief as the only and final relief on
the application. The directions had been given
here only to circumvent the provisions of Section
80 of the Civil Procedure Code, and that was not
within the scope of Article 226. An interim relief
can be granted only in aid of and as ancillary to
the main relief which may be available to the
party on final determination of his rights in a suit
or proceeding. If the Court was of opinion that
there was no other convenient or adequate
remedy open to the petitioners, it might have
proceeded to investigate the case on its merits
and come to a decision as to whether the
petitioners succeeded in establishing that there
was an infringement of any of their legal rights
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| of the<br>uld be in | parties<br>vestigat |
|---|
24. The language of Article 226 does not permit such an
action and once the Court finds no merits in the challenge,
writ petition will have to be dismissed and the question of
granting further relief after dismissal of the writ, does not
arise. Consequently, once a writ is dismissed, all the interim
reliefs granted would also go.
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25. This Court has already passed an interim order on
1.3.2013 granting bail to the appellant on certain conditions.
The said order will continue till the completion of the trial.
However, if the appellant is not co-operating with the
investigation, the State can always move for vacating the
order. The appeal is accordingly dismissed as above.
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……………………………..J.
(K. S. Radhakrishnan)
New Delhi,
January 16, 2014.
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[REPORTABLE]
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
| AL APPEA<br>al Leave | L NO. 1<br>Petition ( |
|---|
Km. Hema Mishra …..Appellant
Vs.
State of U.P. & Ors.
….Respondents
J U D G M E N T
A.K.SIKRI,J.
1. I have carefully gone through the judgment authored by my
esteemed brother, Justice Radhakrishnan. I entirely agree with
the conclusions arrived at by my learned brother in the said
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judgment. At the same time, I would also like to make some
observations pertaining to the powers of High Court under Article
226 of the Constitution of India to grant relief against pre-arrest
(commonly called as anticipatory bail), even when Section
438,Cr.P.C. authorizing the Court to grant such a relief is
specifically omitted and made inapplicable in so far as State of
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Uttar Pradesh is concerned. I would like to start with reproducing
the following observations in the opinion of my brother, on this
aspect which are contained in paragraph 21 of the judgment. It
reads as under:
“We may, however, point out that there is
unanimity in the view that in spite of the fact that
Section 438 has been specifically omitted and
made inapplicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh,
still a party aggrieved can invoke the jurisdiction
of the High Court under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India, being extraordinary
jurisdiction and the vastness of the powers
naturally impose considerable responsibility in its
application. All the same, the High Court has got
the power and sometimes duty in appropriate
cases to grant reliefs, though it is not possible to
pin-point what are the appropriate cases, which
we have to leave to the wisdom of the Court
exercising powers under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India.”
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2. Another aspect which is highlighted in the judgment
rendered by Justice Radhakrishnan is that many times in the Writ
Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking
quashing of the FIR or the charge-sheet, the petitioners pray for
interim relief against arrest. While entertaining the Writ Petition
the High Court invariably grants such an interim relief. It is rightly
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pointed out that once the Writ Petition claiming main relief for
quashing of FIR or the charge-sheet itself is dismissed, the
question of granting further relief after dismissal of the Writ
| It is so e | xplained |
|---|
judgment of my learned brother.
3. I would like to remark that in the absence of any provisions
like Section 438 of Cr.P.C. applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh,
there is a tendency on the part of the accused persons, against
whom FIR is lodged and/or charge-sheet is filed in the Court to file
Writ Petition for quashing of those proceedings so that they are
able to get protection against the arrest in the interregnum which
is the primary motive for filing such petitions. It is for this reason
that invariably after the lodging of FIR, Writ Petition under Article
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226 is filed with main prayer to quash those proceedings and to
claim interim relief against pre-arrest in the meantime or till the
completion of the trial. However, the considerations which have
to weigh with the High Court to decide as to whether such
proceedings are to be quashed or not are entirely different than
that of granting interim protection against the arrest. Since the
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grounds on which such an FIR or charge sheet can be quashed
are limited, once the Writ Petition challenging the validity of FIR
or charge-sheet is dismissed, the grant of relief, incidental in
| would ob | viously |
|---|
justifiable case for grant of anticipatory bail is made out .
4. It is for this reason, we are of the opinion that in appropriate
cases the High Court is empowered to entertain the petition under
Article 226 of the Constitution of India where the main relief itself
is against arrest. Obviously, when provisions of Section 438 of
Cr.P.C. are not available to the accused persons in the State of
Uttar Pradesh, under the normal circumstances such an accused
persons would not be entitled to claim such a relief under Art. 226
of the Constitution. It cannot be converted into a second window
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for the relief which is consciously denied statutorily making it a
case of casus omissus. At the same time, as rightly observed in
para 21 extracted above, the High Court cannot be completely
denuded of its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution, to
grant such a relief in appropriate and deserving cases; albeit this
power is to be exercised with extreme caution and sparingly in
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those cases where arrest of a person would lead to total
miscarriage of justice. There may be cases where pre-arrest may
be entirely unwarranted and lead to disastrous consequences.
| urt is co | nvinced |
|---|
would be appropriate to grant the relief against pre-arrest in such
cases. What would be those cases will have to be left to the
wisdom of the High Court. What is emphasized is that the High
Court is not bereft of its powers to grant this relief under Art. 226
of the Constitution.
A Bench of this Court, headed by the then Chief
Justice Y.V.Chandrachud, laid down first principles
of granting anticipatory bail in the Gurbaksh
Singh v. State of Punjab 1980 Crl.L.J. 417 (P&H),
reemphasizing that liberty… - ‘A person who has
yet to lose his freedom by being arrested asks for
freedom in the event of arrest. That is the stage
at which it is imperative to protect his freedom, in
so far as one may, and to give full play to the
presumption that he is innocent.
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5. In Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P. and Others, 1994 Cr L.J.
1981, the Supreme Court observed:
“No arrest can be made because it is lawful
for the police officer to do so. The existence of the
power to arrest is one thing. The justification for the
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| in a ro<br>ommissi | utine m<br>on of |
|---|
6. It is pertinent to explain there may be imminent need to
grant protection against pre-arrest. The object of this provision is
to relieve a person from being disgraced by trumped up charges
so that liberty of the subject is not put in jeopardy on frivolous
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grounds at the instance of the unscrupulous or irresponsible
persons who may be in charge of the prosecution. An order of
anticipatory bail does not in any way, directly or indirectly; take
away for the police their right to investigate into charges made or
to be made against the person released on bail.
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7. The purposes for which the provisions of anticipatory bail are
made are quite obvious. One of the purposes of the arrest is that
the accused should be available to the investigating machinery
| and ques | tioning |
|---|
Another purpose is that the trial should not be jeopardized and for
this purpose the restrictions on the movements of the accused
are necessary. The genuineness of the alleged need for police
custody has to be examined and it must be balanced against the
duty of courts to uphold the dignity of every man and to vigilantly
guard the right to liberty without jeopardizing the state objective
of maintenance of law and order.
8. I would also like to reproduce certain paragraphs from
Kartar Singh and Ors. V. State of Punjab (1994) 3 SCC 569,
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wherein Justice K.Ramaswamy, speaking for the Court, discussed
the importance of life and liberty in the following words.
“The foundation of Indian political and social
democracy, as envisioned in the preamble of the
Constitution, rests on justice, equality, liberty and
fraternity in secular and socialist republic in which
every individual has equal opportunity to strive
towards excellence and of his dignity of person in
an integrated egalitarian Bharat. Right to justice
and equality and stated liberties which include
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| ment of<br>tion pro | human<br>tects rig |
|---|
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| o to est<br>vidual ha | ablish a<br>s to gro |
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| cial cont<br>the nee | rol which<br>ds of th |
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The modem social evolution is the growing need
to keep individual to be as free as possible,
consistent with his correlative obligation to the
society. According to Dr. Ambedkar in his closing
speech in the Constituent Assembly, the principles
of liberty, equality and fraternity are not to be
treated as separate entities but in a trinity. They
form the union or trinity in the sense that to
divorce one from the other is to defeat the very
purpose of democracy. Liberty cannot be divorced
from equality. Equality cannot be divorced from
liberty. Nor can equality and liberty be divorced
from fraternity. Without equality, liberty would
produce supremacy of law. Equality without liberty
would kill individual initiative. Without fraternity,
liberty and equality would not become a natural
course of things. Courts, as sentinel on the qui
vive, therefore, must strike a balance between the
changing needs of the society for peaceful
transformation with orders and protection of the
rights of the citizen.(Para 374)
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9. It was also held in that judgment that the High Courts under
Art.226 had the right to entertain writ petitions for quashing of FIR
and granting of interim protection from arrest. This position, in
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the context of contours of Art.226, is stated as follows in the same
judgment:
| his sce<br>ther th<br>d be r | nario,<br>e High<br>ight in |
|---|
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| ction can<br>court an | be est<br>d that |
|---|
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10. It would be pertinent to mention here that in light of above
mentioned statements and cases, the High Court would not be
incorrect or acting out of jurisdiction if it exercises its power under
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Art.226 to issue appropriate writ or direction or order in
exceptional cases at the behest of a person accused of an offence
triable under the Act or offence jointly triable with the offences
under the Act.
11. It is pertinent to mention that though the High Courts have
very wide powers under Art.226, the very vastness of the powers
imposes on it the responsibility to use them with circumspection
and in accordance with the judicial consideration and well
established principles, so much so that while entertaining writ
petitions for granting interim protection from arrest, the Court
would not go on to the extent of including the provision of
anticipatory bail as a blanket provision.
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12. Thus, such a power has to be exercised very cautiously
keeping in view, at the same time, that the provisions of Article
226 are a devise to advance justice and not to frustrate it. The
powers are, therefore, to be exercised to prevent miscarriage of
justice and to prevent abuse of process of law by authorities
indiscriminately making pre-arrest of the accused persons. In
entertaining such a petition under Art.226, the High Court is
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supposed to balance the two interests. On the one hand, the
Court is to ensure that such a power under Art.226 is not to be
exercised liberally so as to convert it into Section 438,Cr.P.C.
| in mind | that |
|---|
specifically omitted in the State of Uttar Pradesh, it cannot be
resorted to as to back door entry via Art.226. On the other hand,
wherever the High Court finds that in a given case if the
protection against pre-arrest is not given, it would amount to
gross miscarriage of justice and no case, at all, is made for arrest
pending trial, the High Court would be free to grant the relief in
the nature of anticipatory bail in exercise of its power under Art.
226 of the Constitution. It is again clarified that this power has to
be exercised sparingly in those cases where it is absolutely
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warranted and justified.
……………………….J.
(A.K. SIKRI)
New Delhi,
th
16 January 2014
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