The Allahabad High Court has refused to intervene in the FIR lodged by MP Atul Garg under insult, conspiracy and IT Act against Congress candidate Dolly Sharma from Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections.
The Division Bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Dolly Sharma.
The prayer made in the petition is to quash the First Information Report dated 06.10.2024 registered as Case under Sections 500, 501, 504, 120-B of IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, Police Station – Kavi Nagar, District – Ghaziabad but at the time when the matter is taken up counsel for the petitioner confines his relief to grant of protection under section 41-A of Code of Criminal Procedure.
The Court observed that the the First Information Report which prima facie discloses cognizable offence and, therefore, the prayer made to quash FIR otherwise cannot be entertained in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of State of Telangana Vs Habib Abdullah Jellani, (2017) 2 SCC 779 and Neeharika Infrastructure Pvt Ltd vs State of Maharashtra and Others, (2021) SCC Online SC 315.
The Court is of the view that no interference is warranted.
However, considering the fact that all offences, mentioned in the present, are punishable with a term up to 7 years, therefore, the Court directed authorities to ensure the procedure of arrest as per the guidelines of Supreme Court enshrined in the case of Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273.
Accordingly, the Court disposed of the petition.