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Judgment
Jyotsna Rewal Dua, J
Petitioner seeks quashing of FIR No. 155/2019, dated 24.7.2019, registered under Sections 143 and 188 of Indian Penal Code, at Police Station,
Sadar, District Shimla alongwith all consequential proceedings.
The FIR in question has been registered not only against the petitioner but various other persons as well. Petitioner is a Lawyer by profession. All
other accused persons named in the FIR are also Lawyers. The incident triggering lodging of the FIR pertains to an agitation carried out by Lawyers
of District Court Shimla regarding restricting their entry to Dstrict Court Shimla via Vidhan Sabha. The case of the petitioner is that the protest by the
Lawyers was on collective basis in a peaceful manner and without use of any violence or force. The petitioner also participated in the protest in a
peaceful manner. It is further the case of the petitioner that the allegations levelled against him in the FIR are false, fabricated and concocted.
I have gone through the reply filed to the present petition and heard learned counsel for the parties. It is not in dispute that similar petitions for
quashing of this FIR and consequential proceedings filed by various other co-accused persons have been allowed by coordinate Benches of this Court.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of the court to following paras of the judgment passed by coordinate Bench of this Court in
Cr.MMO No. 306/2020:
“3. According to the petitioner, the protest was a collective one and a peaceful one wherein there was no use of any violation or force. Yet, the
respondents have lodged the F.I.R. against the petitioner though the petitioner is not guilty of committing any offence mentioned in the F.I.R. As per
the petitioner, the F.I.R. is false, fabricated and is concocted, just to scuttle the agitation which stood undertaken by the Lawyers for a common cause
and accordingly, a prayer has been made for quashing of the same by invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Criminal
Procedure Code.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of this Court to the judgment passed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in Cr.MMO
No.51 of 2020, titled as Rajiv Jiwan Versus State of Himachal Pradesh., decided on 24.01.2020 and on the strength of the same, she has argued that
as the F.I.R. which was the subject matter of the above mentioned Cr.MMO (Cr.MMO No.51 of 2020), was also registered against the petitioner
therein during the same agitation, therefore, this petition be allowed on the same principles as were adopted by the Coordinate Bench, while allowing
the Cr.MMO No.51 of 2020 (supra) and quashing the F.I.R. subject matter on the said petition.
Learned Additional Advocate General could not dispute that the F.I.R. subject matter of Cr.MMO No.51 of 2020 stood quashed by this Court and
that the same was also registered against the petitioner herein during the course of the same agitation and that the judgment passed by the Coordinate
Bench has attained finality.â€
The contention of the petitioner that he is similarly situated as the petitioners in Cr.MMO No. 306/2020 and 5/2021, has not been disputed by the
respondents. Therefore, without going into any further narration of facts or controversy involved in this petition, as it is not in dispute that similar F.I.R.
lodged against other members of the Bar with similar allegations stands quashed qua them by this Court, this petition is allowed and F.I.R. No.155 of
2019, dated 24.07.2019, registered under Sections 143, 188 of the Indian Penal Code, at Police Station Sadar, District Shimla, H.P. alongwith
consequential proceedings, if any, is quashed qua the petitioner. The petition stands disposed of. Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, also stand
disposed of.