VINOD KUMAR PANDEY vs CENRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

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Reserved on : 12.08.2026
Pronounced on : 16.10.2026



IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

TH
DATED THIS THE 16 DAY OF OCTOBER, 2026


BEFORE

THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA


WRIT PETITION NO. 12281 OF 2026 (GM-RES)


BETWEEN:

VINOD KUMAR PANDEY
AGED ABOUT 42 YEARS
801, H-BLOCK
GODREJ AVENUES
SINGANAYAKANAHALLI
DODDABALLAPUR MAIN ROAD
YELAHANKA, BENGALURU
…PETITIONER








Digitally
signed by
CHETAN B C
Location:
High Court
of Karnataka

(BY SRI GANESH KUMAR R., ADVOCATE)

AND:

CENRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
ANTI-CORRUPTION BRANCH
NO.36, BELLARY ROAD
GANGANAGAR
BENGALURU – 560 032
REPRESENTED BY
SPECIAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

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FOR CBI CASES
HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
DR. AMBEDKAR VEEDHI
BENGALURU – 560 001.
…RESPONDENT
(BY SRI RAHUL KRISHA REDDY, ADVOCATE FOR
SRI P.PRASANNA KUMAR, SPL.PP)

THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND
227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA READ WITH SECTION 528 OF
BNSS., PRAYING TO QUASH THE FIR DATED 22.01.2026 PENDING
ON THE FILE OF THE XXI ADDITIONAL CEITY CIVIL AND SESSIONS
JUDGE (CCH 4) IN RC 0372026A0001 (ANNEXURE-A) AND ALL
CONSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS AS BEING ILLEGAL, IRREGULAR,
UNSUSTAINABLE, AND BAD IN THE EYES OF LAW.

THIS CRIMINAL PETITION HAVING BEEN HEARD AND
RESERVED FOR ORDERS ON 12.08.2026, COMING ON FOR
PRONOUNCEMENT THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:-

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA

CAV ORDER

The petitioner/accused is before the Court calling in question
proceedings in R.C.No.0372026A0001 registered for offences
punishable under Sections 7 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption
Act, 1988 (‘the Act’ for short) and Section 61(2) of the BNS.

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2. Heard Sri Ganesh Kumar R, learned counsel appearing for
the petitioner and Sri Rahul Krishna Reddy, learned counsel
appearing for the respondent.

3. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows:

The petitioner, a public servant, is working as Superintendent
of Customs in the Inland Container Depot, Whitefield, Bengaluru. A
complaint comes to be registered before the Superintendent of
Police, Central Bureau of Investigation, Anti-Corruption Branch,
Bengaluru by the Customs Department that a joint surprise check
was conducted, recoveries were effected and statements were
recorded on the basis of the information alleging corruption in the
functioning of the Inland Container Depot, Whitefield. During the
course of such search, certain sums of money were recovered from
different locations from different persons. Insofar as the petitioner
is concerned, the mahazar recorded a sum of ` 10,000/- in the
denomination of ` 200/- found not with the petitioner, but in the
dustbin located in the cubicle which is said to be with the petitioner.
It is the further statement that ` 47,500/- was found in the vehicle
said to be in possession of the petitioner and other recoveries were

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made from other officers. Based upon the said incident, a complaint
comes to be registered on 20-09-2024 on the basis of the joint
surprise check. The petitioner was not named in the FIR. The
proceedings were primarily against one Ramesh Chandra Tripathi
and unknown public servants and certain private persons. On
22-01-2026, after about 16 months of the joint surprise check, on
the very same fact as narrated hereinabove, alleging that the
petitioner has not disclosed materials, the respondent registered
the impugned crime for the afore-quoted offences. The registration
of the crime and continuance of proceedings is what has driven the
petitioner to this Court in the subject petition.

4. The learned counsel Sri Ganesh Kumar R, appearing for the
petitioner would vehemently contend that none of the traits that are
necessary for an offence under Section 7 of the Act are even
present in the case at hand. There is no complaint alleging demand
or acceptance of bribe. There is no trap laid against the petitioner.
The FIR does not disclose any nexus between the alleged recovery
of money and any official act or favour that is done by the
petitioner towards any private entity. Section 11 of the Act also is

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not attracted in the case at hand as there is no allegation that the
petitioner has obtained any valuable from any person at any point
in time. The other offence is under Section 61(2) of the BNS which
is an offence of criminal conspiracy. Even this does not indicate
semblance of ingredients as is necessary. The recovery from the
dustbin does not mean exclusive possession of the said amount by
the petitioner. Moreover, the amount of ` 10,000/- was recovered
16 months prior to the crime. On all these factors, the learned
counsel seeks quashment of proceedings.

5. The learned counsel Sri Rahul Krishna Reddy representing
the respondent/Central Bureau of Investigation takes this Court
through the statement of objections so filed, contending that prima
facie there is allegation of corruption against the petitioner. The
delay in registration of crime was not deliberate, but due to the
required approvals for registration of the crime under Section 17A
of the Act. Therefore, the period between the joint surprise check
and registration of crime after 16 months is explained. He would
submit that pursuant to the impugned crime no forcible action is

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taken against the petitioner and interference at this stage is
unwarranted.

6. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions
made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the
material on record.

7. The official position of the petitioner and the joint surprise
check conducted are all a matter of record. The complaint that is
registered before the CBI is based upon the proceedings of the joint
surprise check. The proceedings of the joint surprise check are as
follows:
“Proceedings of the Joint Surprise Check conducted at
Inland Container Depot, Indian Customs, Whitefield,
Bangalore on 20.09.2024 & 21.09.2024

A reliable information has been received that the Customs
Officials posted at the Inland Container Depot, Indian Customs,
Whitefield, Bangalore are indulging in rampant corruption in
collusion with Clearing House Agents (CHAs). Therefore, a Joint
Surprise Check has been commenced on 20.09.2024 by the
joint team of CBI, ACB, Bangalore and Directorate General of
Vigilance, Customs and Central Tax, Hyderabad Zone Unit,
Hyderabad. A joint team consisting of officers from vigilance
deputed by Directorate General of Vigilance, Customs and
Central Tax, Hyderabad Zone Unit, Hyderabad namely Smt.
Beena M.V., Supdt. of Central Tax (Vigilance) & Shri Krishna
Chaitanya Nayudu, Inspector of Central Tax (Vigilance),
Bangalore North Commissionerate Office, Bangalore & a CBI

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team lead by Shri Suresh Kumar, Dy.SP, CBI, ACB, Bangalore
reached at the office of Additional Commissioner of Customs,
ICD CONCOR, Whitefied, Bangalore at 1740 Hrs for conducting
the Joint Surprise Check.

The team (joint team) was divided in two parts, first team
consisting of Smt. Beena MV, Supdt. of Central Tax (Vigilance),
Shri Suresh Kumar, DySP, Shri P.C. Sahoo, Dy.S.P, Shri
Mithilesh Kumar, PI, Shri Siddappa DG, PI, Shri Sachin, PI, Shri
Kiran Raj HN, PI, Shri Chandrashekhar, ASI and Shri Siddappa
Chimmad, PC CBI ACB Bangalore entered in the Customs office
in Admin Building & secured the spot.

The Second team consisting of Shri Krishna Chaitanya
Nayudu, Inspector of Central Tax (Vigilance), Shri A.V.S.Sai,
Dy. SP, Shri Sai Kiran PL, Dy. SP, Dr. Santosh, Dy. SP, Shri
Manoj Kumar Tripathi, PI, Shri Anish, Pl, reached the Shed
Building, ICD CONCOR, Whitefield, Bangalore and secured the
place.

Two Sub Inspectors, Shri Vinit Patel and Shri Kshitij
Bajpai have been placed at the exit gate of the ICD and they
later joined the proceedings.

The above mentioned first team entered in the Admin
Building office and met Shri Ameer Siddiqui, Deputy
Commissioner Customs and he was informed of the purpose of
the visit and apprised him that a joint surprise check will be
conducted in the office of Additional Commissioner of Customs,
ICD CONCOR, Whitefield, Bangalore. Following officers were
found available in the office premises at ground floor:

1. Shri Aditya Kumar, Supdt. of Customs, INSITU
2. Shri Mahidhar Reddy, Appraiser
3. Shri Ritesh Kumar, Appraiser
4. Shri Anshul Mittal, Appraiser
5. Shri Sudarshan Mistry, Appraiser
6. Shri Anuj Kumar, Appraiser
7. Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey, Supdt. of Customs
8. Shri Hemraj, Tax Assistant, Admin Section
9. Shri Srinivasa, Contingent
10. Shri Rajan, Contingent

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11. Shri Paramesha M.N., Customs House Agent, M/s
Paramount Shipping Services Pvt. Ltd.
12. Shri Manjeet Kumar, an employee of M/s Transworld
Logistics R/o 2364/8, Patel Nagar, New Delhi-110008, EPIC
No. SNJ1576461; (CHA)

Shri Ameer Siddiqui, Deputy Commissioner Customs, ICD
Whitefield, Bangalore, informed that declaration should be made
by all the officers of Customs before entering in the office about
the cash in their pockets and personal belongings, if it is more
than Rs. 5000/-. He has provided the copy of Vigilance Standing
Order No. 03/2020 dated 15.07.2020 issued by O/o
Commissioner of Customs, Cochin, Vigilance Circular dated
06.10.2021 issued by Central Intelligence Air Cargo Complex,
Sahar, Mumbai and Vigilance Circular No. 01/2020 dated
09.09.2020 issued by Chennai North Commisionerate. He
further informed that ICD Bangalore is following said circulars
only, they have not issued separate circular in this regard. The
officers having more than Rs 5000./- cash, should mandatorily
report the same to the Admin branch and make an entry in the
register maintained in the admin branch for this purpose.

The aforesaid officials were checked for cash and other
incriminating documents/ articles in their possession. During
checking, cash is found available at different places in the
possession of public servants and they were not able to give any
satisfactory account of the said amount found in their
possession. The instances of unaccounted and unexplained cash
are mentioned below:

1. An amount of Rs. 10,000/- in the denomination of Rs. 200/-
was found in the red colour dustbin which was in the custody
of the cubicle/partition of Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey, Supdt.
of Customs at his workplace. On being asked, he could not
explain the possession of the said cash with him.

2. An amount of Rs. 37000/- (Rs. 30000/-+ Rs. 7000/- in two
bunches) in denomination of Rs. 500/- was found between
two files kept if the Almirah available in the passer-by area
adjacent to cubicle of Shri Mahidhar Reddy, Shri Siddhartha
Krishna & Shri Redyam Subbareddy all Appraisers. The
Almirah as stated by officers present there was not in
anyone's personal possession. However, no one except Shri

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Mahidhar Reddy was found available in the said cubicle at
the point of time. Others had left office by that time.

3. An amount of Rs. 5000/- in the denomination of Rs. 500/-
was found in the office of Shri A.V. Kanchibail, IRS, Asst.
Commissioner from the cupboard which is to the left of his
office chair. However, he was not available in the office
during the necking of his office. Later on, he was called to
office and explanation regarding the said amount of
Rs.5000/-is asked but he could not explain properly.

4. An amount of Rs.25,000/- (Rs.500/-*50) was found in the
possession of Shri Manjeet Kumar, an employee of M/s
Transworld Logistics R/o 2364/8, Patel Nagar, New Delhi-
110008. He was present in the Admin Office, Ground Floor
with Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey Supdt. of Customs at his
workplace.

Further, the vehicles of all the above-mentioned officers of
customs have been checked and findings of the same are as
follows:

1. Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey, Supdt. of Customs opened the
vehicle bearing number UP70EX9747 with the key in his
possession. On being checked, an amount of Rs. 47500/-
in the denomination of Rs. 500/-(95 numbers) was found
in the said car in the box below the left-side hand-rest of
the driving seat. Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey could not
explain the same.

2. An amount of Rs. 5120/- (10 notes of denomination of Rs.
500/- + 120/- in change) was found in the car bearing
vehicle number JH21J4367 of Shri Ritesh Kumar,
Appraiser. However the same has been handed over to
him and not taken into the JSC team possession as it was
outside the premises of the office.

The sketch of the seating plan of first venue has also been
prepared to understand the seating plan of all the
officers/official at ground floor of Administrative Building, ICD,
Customs, Bangalore.

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The above amount of Rs. 1,24,500/- (10,000 +37000
+25,000 +47500 +5000) has been taken into possession of JSC
team and duly sealed by wrapping white colour marking cloth
and signed by all concerned. Further the red colour dustbin, in
the custody of the cubicle/partition of Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey,
Supdt. of Customs, in which the amount of Rs. 10,000/-in the
denomination of Rs. 200/- was found, was also sealed. The
specimen seal impression has also been taken separately.

The second team mentioned above conducted the Joint
Surprise Check in the Import and Export Shed. The team on
reaching the room of the Superintendents of Customs, Import
Shed found four persons inside the room. On enquiry, the
person sitting in the office chair introduced himself as Shri
Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, who is the Superintendent of
Customs, Imports, ICD. He informed that the other
Superintendent of Customs, Import Shed Shri Kaushalendra
Kishore had left the room at about 3.30pm.

The sketch of the seating plan of Export/Import Shed has
also been prepared to understand the seating plan of all the
officers/official at the Export/Import Shed.

The three other persons in the room have identified
themselves as Shri Jaideep Yadav, Inspector of Customs, ICD,
Whitefield (Import Shed); Shri Sukhvir Singh, Superintendent of
Customs, ICD, Whitefield both of whom informed that they are
working in the Import Shed and sit in the Inspectors room. The
third person Shri Partha Sarathi Dey informed that he is working
as Superintendent of Customs in ICD and came to the room to
ask if they would join him for tea and smoking. Shri Ameer
Siddiqui, Deputy Commissioner Customs also came with the
team. Shri Ramesh Chandra Tripathi was informed about the
purpose of the visit of the CBI and Vigilance team. The following
amount was found in the room of Shri Ramesh Chandra
Tripathi:

i. In his Almirah: Loose Cash of Rs.50,000/- (Rs.500/- *28;
Rs.200/0 100 and Rs.200/-80);

ii. Inside the Book “BDP's Customs Tariff” kept in his
Almirah: Loose cash of Rs.85,600/- (Rs.500/- *55;
Rs.500/- 115 & Rs.100/- 06)

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iii. A further amount of Rs.50,000/- (Rs.500/-*100) cash
kept in an envelope and a loose currency notes
amounting to Rs.4,800/-(Rs.500/-9 & Rs.100/- 3)
found inside the drawer of his table.

iv. A further amount of Rs.20 lakhs (40 bundles of Rs 500/-
*100) kept in a polythene cover was found under the
almirah.

v. An empty black bag was also found in the cabin of Shri
Ramesh Chandra Tripathi.

vi. A further amount of Rs.3,16,100/- (6 bundles each
containing 100 currency notes of Rs.500/- denomination;
28 currency notes of Rs.500/- denomination in loose
condition were found in a box kept in the north-east of
the room in front of Shri Ramesh Chandra Tripathi and 04
notes of Rs.500/- currency denomination and 01 Rs.100/-
currency note in loose condition under the chair)

Shri Ramesh Chandra Tripathi could not explain the
amount of Rs.25,06,500/- found in his possession except the
Rs.50,000/- found in the almirah which he claimed that it was
collected by him for spending in the farewell of Shri Amitesh
Bharat Singh, Commissioner of Customs.

The team also checked the rooms of the Superintendents,
Exports and also the rooms of the inspectors of Customs,
Import Shed but nothing incriminating was found.

The team also checked the mobile phone of Shri Ramesh
Chandra Tripathi and the same revealed that he is in regular
contact with various CHAS (Custom House Agents) and as such
his mobile phone bearing Mobile No. 9986948129 & IMEI Nos.
354106778898624; 354106779234944 has been taken into
possession of the team for further examination. Further,
theobile phone bearing Nos. 8660468239 & 9483050884 and
IMEI Nos. 357807167567079 & 35780716756087 of Shri Vijay
Kumar who is working as an office boy in the office of the Addl.
Commissioner has also been checked and the same revealed
that he is regular touch with various CHAs through Whatsapp

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messaging. Hence, the said mobile phone has been taken into
possession of the team for further examination.

Meanwhile, Shri Kaushalendra Kishore, the
Superintendent (Import Shed) has reached the Import shed and
has been asked to open his almirah. He stated that he did not
have the key to the same and as such after consulting with Shri
Ameer Siddiqui, Deputy Commissioner Customs, the said
almirah was broken opened and nothing incriminating was
found. On being asked, Shri Kaushalendra Kishore informed that
he was not aware of the cash found in possession of Shri
Ramesh Chandra Tripathi.

The team asked Shri Ramesh Chandra Tripathi and Shri
Kaushalendra Kishore to show their wallets and the following
were found from their wallets:

•

Cash of Rs 9420/-(Rs 500/- 17, Rs 200, Rs 100/-6, Rs
50, Rs 20/-2, Rs 10/-3) was recovered from the wallet
of Shri Ramesh Chandra Tripathi. The same was sealed
by the team.

•
Cash of Rs. 3190/- was found in the wallet of Sh.
Kaushalendra Kishore and same was returned to him.
Further, a small piece of paper was recovered from the
wallet of Shri Kaushalendra Kishore, on which
handwritten notes mentioning 1.8 DC, 5 Ass etc are seen.
The image of the same is affixed hereunder. The Vigilance
officers have affixed their signature on the piece of paper
& same was taken in the possession of the team:

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The team also viewed the CCTV footage in respect of the
CCTV camera available in front of the import shed. The same
revealed that one person wearing multi coloured Checked Shirt
and Blue trousers, carrying two in his right hand (one blue and
one black) and one grey bag in his left hand(three bags) was
found going towards the import shed at about 13.41 hours and
was -found returning with only two bags, blue bag hanged from
his shoulders and grey bag in his right hand at about 13.44
hours. The same person was interacting with another person
and was found sharing some documents. The black bag which
was earlier present in his right hand is not available with him
while returning. A black bag was found in possession of Shri
Ramesh Chandra Tripathi and the same has been taken into
possession of the team for further verification.

The following registers have been taken into the
possession of the JSC team.

(i) Original ICD Bangalore OOC/Book, having entry made
by CHA containing details of shipping bill number,
shipping bill date, container size and port of discharged.
(Total printed page 168).

(ii) Original CHA entry in gate register opened on
29.08.2024 and entry made till 20.09.2024. (total
printed number 200 and entry made till page 83).

(iii) BDP's Customs Tariff Book in which cash was found.

The following Mobile Phones have been taken in
possession of the team as it is suspected that they have been
used for indulging in corrupt activities and further verification
of the same is necessary. The said phones have been sealed in
a box which was then covered with white Markin Cloth. The
passwords and the pattern key of the phones have been
removed and switched off before sealing.

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The cash, the empty black bag, the red dustbin in which
the cash was found, the above-mentioned registers, the
Customs Tariff Book, some relevant circulars and above-
mentioned 06 mobile phones taken in possession of the team
and have been entrusted to Shri Krishna Chaitanya Nayudu,
Inspector of Central Tax (Vigilance), Bangalore North
Commissionerate Office, Bangalore.

The proceedings have concluded at 6:00 AM on

21.09.2024

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A complaint emerges on the said joint surprise check. The gist of
the complaint is as follows:

“During a Joint Surprise Check conducted on 20.09.2024 &
21.09.2024 at the Inland Container Deport, Whitefield,
Bengaluru, on the basis of reliable source information about
rampant corruption in the Inland Container Deport, Whitefield,
Bengaluru, an amount of Rs. 10,000/- in the denomination of
Rs. 200/- was found in the dustbin which was in the custody of
the cubicle/partition of Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey,
Superintendent of Customs at his workplace.

Further, during the course of the JSC, the inspection of the
vehicle of Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey bearing number
UP70EX9747 (the key was in his possession) revealed that an
amount of Rs. 47,500/- in the denomination of Rs. 500/- (95
numbers) was found kept in the said car in the box below the
left-side hand-rest of the driving seat. Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey
could not explain the possession of the said amount.

Whereas it is mandatory as per Customs Circulars for Shri Vinod
Kumar Pandey to declare in the Cash Declaration Register if he

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carries an amount over and above Rs. 5,000/-, he, however, did
not make any such declaration in spite of the fact that he was in
possession of cash as mentioned above. The fact that he could
not explain the source of the cash reveals that the same is
prima facie illegal gratification obtained by him.

In order to register the case, request was sent to Government
of Karnataka for consent under section 6 of DSPE Act 1946 and
the Government of Karnataka issued the same vide Government
Order No. HD 202 COD 1024, Bengaluru, dated 07.04.2025
communicated to this office vide letter No. HD 202 COD 2024
dated 20.11.2025. Subsequently, DoPT has issued notification
under section 5 of DSPE Act 1946 vide order dated 22.12.2025,
which was received in this office on 12.01.2026. Copies of the
same are enclosed.

The above facts reveal commission of offences under section
61(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha (BNS), 2023 and under
sections 7 and 11 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as
amended in 2018) by Shri Vinod Kumar Pandey, Superintendent
of Customs, CGST, Inland Container Depot (ICD), Whitefield,
Bengaluru and Unknown Public servants and Unknown Private
Persons. Hence, the FIR.”

The crime is registered on 22-01-2026. The incident is on
21-09-2024. The petitioner was not named as an accused initially,
but is later named as an accused after receipt of approval under
Section 17A of the Act. The explanation of the petitioner for having
`
been found with possession 47,500/- in his car is as follows:

“To

The Deputy Commissioner of Customs
Import Assessment (Group 2G)
ICD Whitefield

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Kind attention: Deputy Commissioner Shri Indrajit Panda Sir

Respected Sir,

SUB: Intimation of excess amount brought to office from my
personal savings-reg.

*

I, the undersigned, would like to humbly bring to your kind
attention that I have inadvertently brought about Rs. 47,500
(Forty Seven Thousand Five Hundred Only) in denominations of
500 rupees (500 x 95 notes) which was kept in my car (bearing
registration number UP 70 EX 9747, White Ford Ecosport) while
coming to office from home in the morning and am unable to
declare the same due to the unavailability of the Cash
Declaration Register (CDR) here in Assessment Group in ICD
Whitefield.

I sincerely request you to take the same on record and condone
my mistake of bringing excess amount to office premises which
happened Inadvertently.

Thanking you for the same Sir.”

8. On all these factors, though the offence now alleged is the
one punishable under Section 7 of the Act, the matter is still at the
stage of registration of the crime. No further investigation has
taken place in the case at hand. It is trite that FIR is not an
enyclopaedia of offences. The Apex Court in the case of

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NEEHARIKA INFRASTRUCTURE (P) LTD. v. STATE OF
1
MAHARASHTRA has held as follows:
“…. …. ….
33.12. The first information report is not an
encyclopaedia which must disclose all facts and details
relating to the offence reported. Therefore, when the
investigation by the police is in progress, the court
should not go into the merits of the allegations in the
FIR. Police must be permitted to complete the
investigation. It would be premature to pronounce the
conclusion based on hazy facts that the complaint/FIR
does not deserve to be investigated or that it amounts
to abuse of process of law. After investigation, if the
investigating officer finds that there is no substance in
the application made by the complainant, the
investigating officer may file an appropriate
report/summary before the learned Magistrate which
may be considered by the learned Magistrate in
accordance with the known procedure .”

8.1. Again, the Apex Court in the case of SOMJEET MALLICK
2
v. STATE OF JHARKHAND , has held as follows:
“…. …. ….
15. Before we proceed to test the correctness of the
impugned order, we must bear in mind that at the stage of
deciding whether a criminal proceeding or FIR, as the
case may be, is to be quashed at the threshold or not,
the allegations in the FIR or the police report or the
complaint, including the materials collected during

1

(2021) 19 SCC 401
2
(2024) 10 SCC 527

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investigation or inquiry, as the case may be, are to be
taken at their face value so as to determine whether a
prima facie case for investigation or proceeding against
the accused, as the case may be, is made out. The
correctness of the allegations is not to be tested at this
stage.
16. To commit an offence, unless the penal statute
provides otherwise, mens rea is one of the essential
ingredients. Existence of mens rea is a question of fact
which may be inferred from the act in question as well
as the surrounding circumstances and conduct of the
accused . As a sequitur, when a party alleges that the
accused, despite taking possession of the truck on hire,
has failed to pay hire charges for months together,
while making false promises for its payment, a prima
facie case, reflective of dishonest intention on the part
of the accused, is made out which may require
investigation. In such circumstances, if the FIR is
quashed at the very inception, it would be nothing
short of an act which thwarts a legitimate
investigation.
17. It is trite law that FIR is not an encyclopaedia
of all imputations. Therefore, to test whether an FIR
discloses commission of a cognizable offence what is to
be looked at is not any omission in the accusations but
the gravamen of the accusations contained therein to
find out whether, prima facie, some cognizable offence
has been committed or not. At this stage, the court is
not required to ascertain as to which specific offence
has been committed.
18. It is only after investigation, at the time of
framing charge, when materials collected during
investigation are before the court, the court has to
draw an opinion as to for commission of which offence
the accused should be tried. Prior to that, if satisfied, the
court may even discharge the accused. Thus, when the FIR
alleges a dishonest conduct on the part of the accused
which, if supported by materials, would disclose
commission of a cognizable offence, investigation
should not be thwarted by quashing the FIR.

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19. No doubt, a petition to quash the FIR does not
become infructuous on submission of a police report
under Section 173(2)CrPC, but when a police report
has been submitted, particularly when there is no stay
on the investigation, the court must apply its mind to
the materials submitted in support of the police report
before taking a call whether the FIR and consequential
proceedings should be quashed or not. More so, when
the FIR alleges an act which is reflective of a dishonest
conduct of the accused. ”
(Emphasis supplied at each instance)

The case is one of alleged corruption. Therefore, to nip the FIR in
the bud in a case concerning corruption is not worth this Court to
exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. Reserving
liberty to the petitioner to knock at the doors of the appropriate
fora at the appropriate time, the petition deserves to be rejected.

dismissed.
9. The writ petition is, accordingly,




Sd/-
(M.NAGAPRASANNA)
JUDGE


BKP
CT:MJ