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Supreme Court of India
Farhana vs The State Of Uttar Pradesh on 19 February, 2024
Author: B.R. Gavai
Bench: B.R. Gavai
2024 INSC 118 NON-REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024 (Arising out of SLP(Crl.) No(s). 437 of 2023) FARHANA …..APPELLANT(S) VERSUS STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH & ORS. ..RESPONDENT(S) WITH CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024 (Arising out of SLP(Crl.) No(s). 3169 of 2023) JUDGMENT
Mehta, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. Heard learned counsel representing the parties and perused
the material available on record.
3. The appellants-Farhana and Sadarul Islam have filed the
instant appeals for assailing the orders dated 14th November, 2022
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
Deepak Singh
and 6th December, 2022 passed by the Division Bench of the High
Date: 2024.02.19
16:21:23 IST
Reason:
Court of Judicature at Allahabad rejecting Criminal Miscellaneous
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Writ Petition Nos. 16653 of 2022 and 18326 of 2022 preferred bythe appellants respectively, with a prayer to quash the Case Crime
No. 424 of 2022 registered against the appellants for the offence
punishable under Section 3(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and
Anti-Social Activities(Prevention) Act, 1986(for short ‘Gangsters
Act’) at Police Station-Bhognipur, District-Kanpur Dehat.
4. The short issue presented for adjudication in these appeals
is as to whether the proceedings of the FIR under the provisions of
the Gangsters Act and the prosecution of the accused can be
continued in spite of exoneration in the predicate offences covered
by Section 2(b)(i) of Gangsters Act. For the sake of convenience,
Section 2(b)(i) of the Gangsters Act is quoted hereinbelow:-
“2(b) “Gang” means a group of persons, who acting either
singly or collectively, by violence, or threat or show of
violence, or intimidation, or coercion or otherwise with the
object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue
temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage for himself
or any other person, indulge in anti-social activities,
namely—
(i) offences punishable under Chapter XVI, or
Chapter XVII, or Chapter XXII of the
Indian Penal Code, or…..”
5. The FIR impugned before the High Court came to be
registered against the appellants at the instance of the inspector
in-charge of the Police Station, Kanpur Dehat alleging inter alia
that the appellants, being the members of a gang led by Puskal
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Parag Dubey, were involved in following criminal cases:- (1) Crime
Case No. 190 of 2021 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 323, 504
and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860(for short ‘IPC’) and
(2)Crime Case No. 173 of 2019 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471
IPC against Sadarul Islam and (3) Crime Case No. 173 of 2019
under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC against Farhana and, thus,
they were liable to be prosecuted for the offences punishable under
the Gangsters Act. The FIR further narrated that the gang has
criminal history and with a view to impose a restriction on the
activities of the gang, the FIR was being registered after obtaining
prior approval pertaining to the Gang Chart from the District
Magistrate under Section 3(1) of the Gangsters Act.
6. The appellants assailed the aforesaid FIR by way of filing the
captioned criminal writ petitions before the High Court on the
premise that as on the date of the filing of the FIR, only one case
was registered against them and hence, the proceedings under
Section 3(1) of the Gangsters Act were liable to be quashed and set
aside.
7. Learned Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at
Allahabad considered the ratio of the judgment rendered by this
Court in the case of Shraddha Gupta v. State of Uttar Pradesh
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and Others1 wherein it was held that prosecution under the
Gangsters Act can be initiated even against the person who is
involved in a single offence/FIR/charge-sheet for any of the anti-
social activities mentioned in Section 2(b) of the Gangsters Act and
rejected the criminal writ petitions by the impugned orders dated
14th November, 2022 and 6th December, 2022 which have been
assailed in the present appeals.
8. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the
decision rendered in the case of Shraddha Gupta(supra) would
not apply to the case of the appellants because in the intervening
period, proceedings of both the criminal cases being Crime Case
No. 173 of 2019 and Crime Case No. 190 of 2021 have been
quashed in the following manner:- (i) Crime Case No. 173 of
2019 registered against both the appellants, namely, Farhana and
Sadarul Islam was quashed by the High Court of Judicature at
Allahabad, vide order dated 3rd March, 2023, passed in Application
under Section 482 No. 7228 of 2023; (ii) Crime Case No. 190 of
2021 registered against appellant Sadarul Islam was also quashed
by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad vide order dated 18th
1
2022 SCCOnline SC 514
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October, 2023, passed in Application under Section 482 No. 18493
of 2023.
9. On these grounds, learned counsel for the appellants urged
that there being no on-going prosecution of the appellants for any
offence(s) involving anti-social activities as defined in Section 2(b)(i)
of the Gangsters Act, the continuation of the proceedings of the
criminal case and the charge-sheet filed against the appellants
pursuant to investigation of Case Crime No. 424 of 2022 under the
Gangsters Act is absolutely unjustified and tantamounts to abuse
of process of the Court.
10. On these submissions, he implored the Court to accept the
appeals and quash the proceedings of the criminal case pending
against the appellants in the jurisdictional Court.
11. Per contra, learned counsel representing the State urged that
there is no dispute that at the time of registration of FIR, the
appellants were being prosecuted for multiple FIRs involving anti-
social offences as defined under Section 2(b)(i) of the Gangsters Act
and hence, the proceedings of the FIR under the Gangsters Act
cannot be quashed in light of decision rendered by this Court in
the case of Shraddha Gupta(supra).
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12. From a bare perusal of Section 2(b)(i) of the Gangsters Act, it
would become apparent that the person alleged to be the member
of the gang should be found indulging in anti-social activities
which would be covered under the offences punishable under
Chapters XVI, or XVII or XXII IPC. There is no dispute that the
case set up by the prosecution against the appellants insofar as
the offences under the Gangsters Act are concerned, is limited to
Section 2(b)(i) reproduced supra and none of the other clauses of
the provision have been pressed into service for the proposed
prosecution.
13. Needless to say that for framing a charge for the offence under
the Gangsters Act and for continuing the prosecution of the
accused under the above provisions, the prosecution would be
required to clearly state that the appellants are being prosecuted
for any one or more offences covered by anti-social activities as
defined under Section 2(b).
14. There being no dispute that in the proceedings of the sole FIR
registered against the appellants for the offences under Chapter
XVII IPC being Crime Case No. 173 of 2019, the appellants stand
exonerated with the quashing of the said FIR by the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad by exercising the powers under Section
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482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, vide order dated 3rd
March, 2023 passed in Application No. 7228 of 2023.
15. Hence, the very foundation for continuing the prosecution of
the appellants under the provisions of the Gangsters Act stands
struck off and as a consequence, the continued prosecution of the
appellants for the said offence is unjustified and tantamounts to
abuse of the process of Court.
16. As a consequence of the discussion made herein above, the
impugned orders dated 14th November, 2022 and 6th December,
2022 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad are
quashed and set aside. Resultantly, the impugned FIR being
Crime Case No.424 of 2022 for offence punishable under Section
3(1) of the Gangsters Act, registered at Police Station- Bhognipur,
District- Kanpur Dehat and all the proceedings sought to be taken
thereunder against the appellants are hereby quashed.
17. The appeals are allowed accordingly.
18. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
……..……………………J.
(J.B. PARDIWALA)
……..……………………J.
(SANDEEP MEHTA)
New Delhi;
February 19, 2024
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