SRI VED PRAKASH GOEL Vs. SRI P. BANIA, SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, CMS SPECIAL VIGILANCE CELL, ASSAM, DISPUR AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, Shri Ved Prakash Goel, a Gauhati based businessman, seeks the quashing of the Vigilance Police Station Case Dispur No. 2 of 1986, which was registered on a First Information Report on 8.9.86 under Sections 120 B/420/418/409/109/511 of the Indian Penal Code and Sec. 5 (2) read with Sec. 5 (1) (c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is at its investigation stage, in so far as the petitioner is concerned.

(2.) The First Information Report, shortly "the F.I.R.", was lodged at the Vigilance Police Station, Dispur by the 1st respondent, Shri P. Bania. Superintendent of Police, Chief Minister's Vigilance Cell, Assam, Dispur, alleging, inter alia, that during 1984, Shri Hiteswar Saikia, the then Chief Minister of Assam, who was also in charge of Forest, in collusion with (1) Shri Khanindra Kumar Barua, the then Chief Conservator of Forests (General), Assam, (2) Shri Prafulla Kumar Barua, the then Divisional Forest Officer, Haltugaon Division, and (3) Shri Ranjit Patwari, the then Range Officer Protection Squad, Kokrajhar entered into a criminal conspiracy with the petitioner (4) Shri Ved Prakash Goel, and (5) Shri Jagadish Bansal, a representative of the petitioner and some of their agents in Gauhati and Kokrajhar, with a view to cheat the Forest Department of the Government of Assam, and to misappropriate huge quantity of valuable Sal timbers worth several lakh's of rupees, and in pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, the aforesaid persons allowed either for them selves or for the other persons and their agents, undue pecuniary benefit to the tune of several lakh's of rupees, by abusing their official position as such public servants, thereby causing huge financial and wrongful loss to the State Exchequer by issuing permits of timbers to the aforesaid persons, in violation of the Government policy decision of 1980-81 for departmental operation, and that when the said businessmen applied for timber permits for running their respective Saw Mills the then Chief Minister, Shri Hiteswar Saikia who had association with the said businessmen, passed orders on the body of the applications under his signature giving 2000 Cms, to Assam Timber Udyog and 1000 Cms, each to Jagadamba Wood Products and New Hansara Mill, Kokrajhar by dishonestly abusing his official position with a view to cover up non-existence of the Saw Mills.

(3.) The petitioner's contentions are that though in the F.I.R. allegations of collusion and criminal conspiracy have been made against the petitioner, yet while stating therein the facts constituting the offences, there has been no allegation in respect of the petitioner and no ingredient whatsoever of the F.I.R. offences has been alleged against the petitioner and, as such, the F.I.R. does not allege or disclose the essential ingredients of the aforesaid offences and as such the F.I.R. cannot form the foundation or constitute the starting point of lawful investigation in so far as the petitioner is concerned. In other words, no cognisable offence against the petitioner has at all been disclosed in the F.I.R. and, therefore, it is not within the power and province of the Police to investigate into the F.I.R. ; that the conditions precedent to the commencement of Sec. 157 Crimial P.C. and the F.I.R. having not disclosed any prima facie case, the investigation and the proceeding in so far as the petitioner is concerned, is liable to be quashed ; that the petitioner has no link with the alleged offence ; that he is not dealing in timber nor has he got any Saw Mill, nor has he got any implicit or explicit connection with the said firms and no incriminating documents were found on search of his business premises on 9.9.86 ; that the F.I.R. has been lodged with a view to harass the petitioner and mainly the former Chief Minister of Assam on the wrong assumption that the petitioner was closely associated with him, through the Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Cell-the 1st respondent, against whom the former Chief Minister held an enquiry, and thus the F.I.R. has been lodged out of vindictiveness by the present Government in power who bears grudge against the former Chief Minister, Shri Hiteswer Saikia and the petitioner has become the victim of the circumstances though he has got on connection whatsoever with the alleged conspiracy; and thus the F.I.R. has been lodged out of political vendetta against the former Chief Minister implicating the petitioner with him with a view to torture the petitioner and to extract from him incriminating confessional statements to feed fat the grudge. Hence the prayer for quashing the investigation and the proceeding in so far as the petitioner is concerned.