Munmun Kaur
Published On: February 24, 2022 at 11:49 IST
Supreme Court, observed that moving a Writ Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India is not an appropriate remedy for quashing of a First Information Report (FIR) or other Criminal Proceedings.
The observation was made in the Case of Gayatri Prasad Prajapati v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others.
A Division Bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna was hearing a Plea by former Uttar Pradesh Minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati.
The Bench while declining to entertain the Plea observed that a relief which can be considered by the High Court under Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code 1973 cannot be considered by the Apex Court in the exercise of powers under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.
Advocate Hemlata Rawat appearing for the Petitioner sought permission to withdraw the said Petition since the same by a passage of time had become infructuous.
The Apex Court opined that even if it had not become infructuous such type of Writ Petition, under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, for the relief(s) prayed to quash and set aside the Criminal Proceedings/FIR cannot be entertained.
Earlier, similar observations were made by a three-Judge Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Hemant Gupta, and Ajay Rastogi in the 2020 Supreme Court Judgment, wherein the Apex Court observed whether the allegations contained in the FIR do or do not make out any offence as alleged will not be decided in pursuance of the Jurisdiction of the Apex Court under Article 32, to quash the FIR. In such a Case the Petitioner must be relegated to the pursuit of the remedies available under the CrPC.
It was further observed that when the High Court has the power under Section 482, there is no reason to bypass the procedure under the CrPC. In that Case the Supreme Court held that there were no exceptional grounds or reasons to entertain the Petition under Article 32.