The Allahabad High Court has stayed criminal proceedings against a Lekhpal till further orders on the charge of showing a living person as dead and registering the names of his sons on the basis of wrong entry in revenue records.
A Single Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Pachori passed this order while hearing an application under Section 482 filed by Krishna Pal Singh.
The 482 CrPC application has been filed to quash the entire proceedings of Criminal Case under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC, Police Station- Fatehpur Sikari, District Agra, as well as cognizance/summoning order dated 13.03.2006 pending in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra.
The delay in filing of the application is explained.
Counsel for the applicant submitted that the first information report dated 3.10.2000 has been lodged on the basis of false and frivolous allegations with ulterior motive and only to harass the applicant.
It is further submitted that the impugned FIR has been lodged by the then Tehsildar against the applicant. As per allegations of the FIR virasat (succession) order has been passed on a forged report of the applicant.
It is also submitted that the applicant was the then Lekhpal of the Halqa.
Counsel for the applicant said that cognizance order has been passed without any sanction under Section 197 of the CrPC.
Counsel for the applicant further said that applicant submitted his report on the basis of report of Revenue Inspector, the mistake in the report is related to two names of a person in the village only. There is no pre-summoning evidence with regard to offence punishable under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC.
In this regard counsel for the applicant has also relied upon the judgment of the Apex Court in D Devaraja Vs Owasis Sabeer Hussain, 2020 7 SCC 695, wherein it has been held that it was a recognized principle of law that sanction was a legal requirement which empowers the court to take cognizance.
Prima facie, matter requires consideration, the Court observed.
The Court has granted two weeks time to file counter affidavits for the respondents and one week time to file rejoinder affidavit. List after eight weeks.
“Until further orders of the Court, further proceedings of the aforesaid case, shall remain stayed against the applicant,” the Court ordered.