Manil Kumar Midha vs State of Haryana and anr.

Ujagar Singh, J.

Case FIR No. 163 dated 26th September, 1977 under Sections 409, 420, 465, 568, 471, 389 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Police Station Kalayat (District Jind) against the petitioner who was then working as an Executive Engineer in the PWD (B & R) Department of the State of Haryana. After investigation, the Superintendent of Police, Jind, came to the conclusion that no offence whatsoever, as mentioned in the FIR, was made out against the petitioner and others, and consequently, the Superintendent of Police, Jind, submitted a report to Shri N.C. Natha, H.C.S. Judicial Magistrate Ist Class Narwana, for the cancellation of the case, who accepted the cancellation report and passed the following order on 17th March, 1978 :

"As per the report of the Superintendent Police, Jind, the case is hereby cancelled"

In this connection Memo No. 43378 dated 24th December, 1981 from the Superintendent of Police, Jind addressed to Shri V.D. Deshwal, Executive Engineer, PWD (B & R), Narwana, indicated that the case arising out of the said FIR had been cancelled by the Court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Narwana, as stated above.

The petitioner filed a Civil Writ Petition No. 1304 of 1978 titled as M.K. Midha v. The State of Haryana and others, in which the State of Haryana appearing through the Under Secretary to the Govt of Haryana, PWD (B & R) Department, filed Written Statement on 4th May, 1978, in paragraph 9 of which it was averred as follows :

".......The criminal case had been sent up for cancellation after completion of investigation by the police and the report to that effect has been accepted by the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Narwana, vide orders dated 17th March, 1978."

Since the case stood cancelled finally, the petitioner remained satisfied and ultimately in the month of August, 1986, came to know that the police of Kalayat had dug out the abovesaid case and being apprehensive of his arrest, he moved Criminal Misc. No. 4798M of 1986 for the grant of anticipatory bail which ultimately came up before Pritpal Singh, J. on 1st September, 1986, and the petitioner was granted anticipatory bail. The petitioner thereafter was asked many times by the police to appear before them and he got a bail bond executed.

Another report under Section 173, Code of Criminal Procedure, was submitted by the SHO of the said Police Station on 12th October, 1986, before the said Magistrate for the trial of the petitioner under the said offences in the said FIR. The petitioner has challenged his prosecution by way of this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The petition is contested on the ground that earlier the record was not available and, therefore, a new report has been submitted.

Counsel for the petitioner contended that once the case was got cancelled by the investigating agency, it had no power to reinvestigate the matter. Counsel for the State has countered that argument. He emphasizes that the cancellation of the case at an earlier stage does not bar reinvestigation and filing a fresh report under Section 173, Code of Criminal Procedure, on the basis of the same FIR.

After hearing counsel for the parties I am of the view that once after full investigation of a case, the investigating agency submits a report under Section 173, Code of Criminal Procedure, showing that either the case was not traceable or that the offence was not proved, or even showing that the accused was not guilty of the offence, and the report so submitted is accepted resulting in the cancellation of the case by the court, the case will be deemed to have been decided finally, and no fresh report can be filed by the investigating agency. There is no provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorise the investigating agency to reopen the case and against start investigating it in spite of the fact that the record regarding the cancellation report and its acceptance was not available The earlier admission made by the State in its Written Statement aforesaid was sufficient to show the correctness of the averments made in this petition. This petition is accepted with these observations and the report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Copy Annexure P.5 to this petition) is quashed and the case FIR No. 163 dated 26th September, 1977, registered at Police Station Kalayat (District Jind) stands finally disposed of in accordance with the order of the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Narwana dated 17th March, 1978, and no further proceedings on the basis of reinvestigation are called for.

JUDGMENT accordingly.