Munna Prasad Verma vs The State Of Uttar Pradesh

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 1414 OF 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No(s). 11754/2019)

MUNNA PRASAD VERMA ….APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS

STATE OF U.P. & ANR. ….RESPONDENT(S)

WITH

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 1415 OF 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No(s). 2401/2020)

JUDGMENT

Ajay Rastogi, J.

Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by POOJA SHARMA

1. Date: 2022.09.02 17:00:24 IST Reason: Leave granted.

2. The instant appeals are directed against the Order dated 23 rd

1 October, 2019 dismissing the petitions filed at the instance of the

appellants under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973(hereinafter being referred to as “CrPC”) praying for quashing

of the charge­sheet no. 33­B/07 dated 31st July, 2009 arising out of

Case Crime No. 128 of 2002 under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468,

471, 120­B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860(hereinafter being

referred to as the “IPC”), Police Station Kalwari, District Basti.

3. The brief facts of the cases are that one Brijendra Nath

Mishra, who obtained B.Ed Degree dated 19th October, 1999 from

Madan Mohan Malviya PG College, Deoria, which is affiliated to

Gorakhpur University, on account of death of his father, submitted

an application seeking compassionate appointment and on the

basis of the education record, his application was considered by the

Selection Committee in the meeting dated 19 th September, 2000 and

on being found eligible, the Selection Committee vide Resolution No.

19 recommended Brijendra Nath Mishra for appointment on

compassionate grounds pursuant to which he was appointed on

22nd September, 2000 under dying in harness rules.

4. Respondent no. 2, de­facto complainant, lodged FIR on 27 th

2 September, 2002 under Sections 419, 420, 467, 471 IPC against

Brijendra Nath Mishra and members of the Selection Committee,

who according to him, based on his forged marksheet of B.Ed

degree, sought compassionate appointment with a further allegation

that appointment was in collusion with the officers of the

Committee and implicated the present appellants as they were the

members of the Section Committee, on whose recommendations,

appointment was made.

5. After the investigation, final report was filed by the Police on

4th November, 2003 but as per the directions of the learned

Magistrate, several rounds of further investigation thereafter were

held. At later stage, i.e., the third round of investigation, final

report was filed, still on insistence of the complainant, Investigating

Officer was changed and, thereafter, charge­sheet was filed on 31 st

July, 2009 implicating the appellants along with other persons for

offence under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120­B IPC and

Crime No. 128 of 2002 was registered on which cognizance was

taken by the learned Magistrate by an Order dated 4 th August, 2009

that came to be challenged at the instance of the appellants by

3 filing of the petition under Section 482 CrPC for quashing for the

cognizance against them.

6. It may be relevant to inform that, so far as Brijendra Nath

Mishra, against whom there is an allegation of placing the alleged

forged degree for seeking compassionate appointment is concerned,

is facing trial which has to be examined on its own merits in

accordance with law.

7. So far as the other two members of the Committee(Brij

Bhushan Maurya and Paras Nath Chaudhary) are concerned,

against whom cognizance was taken by the learned Magistrate and

who had also preferred a special leave petition before this Court,

unfortunately both have expired during pendency of the

proceedings and by a separate order, the proceedings qua them

have been dismissed as abated.

8. After we have heard learned counsel for the parties and having

gone through the material on record with their assistance, we are of

the view that there is no prima facie evidence on record which

implicate the present appellants directly/indirectly connected to the

commission of crime. It is not the case of the respondents that the

4 present appellants, in any manner, have facilitated Brijendra Nath

Mishra either in creating or in fabricating the alleged forged degree

of B.Ed for seeking compassionate appointment.

9. The present appellants are implicated, being the members of

the Selection Committee, who relied on the documents placed on

record without any verification on the assumption that the

documents being genuine, recommended his case for appointment

and because they are the members of the Selection Committee, that

in itself would not, in any manner, implicate them in the

commission of crime, in reference to which the learned Magistrate

has taken cognizance and issued summons against them by an

Order dated 4th August, 2009 in the instant proceedings, which, in

our view, would be nothing but a clear abuse of the process of law.

10. Consequently, the appeals stand allowed and the criminal

proceedings arising from Case Crime No. 128 of 2002 qua the

appellants are quashed and set aside.

11. We make it clear that the present observations made are only

confined to the disposal qua the instant appeals. The learned

Magistrate may not be influenced by the observations made and

5 conclude the pending trial qua the co­accused(Brijendra Nath

Mishra) on its own merits in accordance with law.

12. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

..………………………J. (AJAY RASTOGI)

...………………………J. (B.V. NAGARATHNA) NEW DELHI;

SEPTEMBER 02, 2022.

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