FIR quashed where material allegations are omitted from initial reports and added as a delayed afterthought.

The applicant and respondent No. 2 (complainant) were both employed as teachers at Royal Primary School

On September 11, 2020, the complainant lodged FIR No. 11207076200514 at Vejalpur Police Station alleging offences under Sections 354D (stalking) and 504 (intentional insult) of the IPC, citing incidents between July 2018 and January 2020

The complainant alleged the applicant followed her to the washroom, sent inappropriate messages, and attempted to assault her during a staff meeting on January 1, 2020

However, the applicant demonstrated that on the day of the alleged incident (January 1, 2020), the complainant had submitted a police application which was later withdrawn; notably, that application mentioned only a heated altercation and contained no allegations regarding Section 354D

The applicant contended the FIR was a retaliatory measure filed after a nine-month delay following his complaints about his colleagues' professional performance

1. Whether the impugned FIR and consequential proceedings should be quashed under Section 482 of the CrPC to prevent an abuse of the process of law.

2. Whether the unexplained nine-month delay and the absence of sexual harassment allegations in the initial police application render the FIR a concocted version.

The court primarily applied Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which preserves the inherent powers of the High Court to quash proceedings to secure the ends of justice

It relied extensively on the landmark precedent State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992 Supp (1) SCC 335), which established seven categories of cases where quashing is permissible

Specifically, the court invoked Category (i), where allegations taken at face value do not constitute an offence, and Category (v), where allegations are so inherently improbable that no prudent person could reach a conclusion of sufficient grounds for proceeding

The court observed a significant, unexplained delay of over nine months in lodging the FIR

Upon examining the material, the court found a fatal inconsistency: the complainant's initial application to the police on January 1, 2020, described only a verbal dispute and made no mention of stalking or sexual harassment

The court reasoned that since the subsequent FIR introduced severe allegations (Section 354D) not present in the earlier statement, the FIR appeared to be an "afterthought and a concocted version" intended to force the applicant out of the school

Furthermore, the court noted that the applicant’s transfer was opposed by villagers, suggesting the criminal proceedings were potentially motivated by professional or personal grudges within the workplace

Consequently, the court determined that the allegations fell under the Bhajan Lal criteria for being inherently improbable and failing to prima facie disclose a cognizable offence

The court quashed and set aside FIR No. 11207076200514 of 2020 registered with Vejalpur Police Station and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom

The Rule was made absolute