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Ram Kishan v. The State of Rajasthan

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 244Decided 9 Apr 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 393 of 2021
Chief Justice S.A. Bobde · Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

The appellant, a police constable, was allegedly assaulted and abused by a woman police inspector (respondent no.3) and her companions after he stopped their motorcycle during a routine vehicle check in 2006. He lodged an FIR the same night. The next day, the motorcycle rider and the inspector lodged a cross-FIR alleging the constable had demanded a bribe and misbehaved with a woman companion. The Rajasthan High Court later quashed the constable's FIR, reasoning it looked like a "counter blast" filed to pre-empt the cross-FIR.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court was wrong to quash the FIR merely on the assumption that it was a counter-blast, especially since the constable's FIR was actually registered a day before the cross-FIR and was still under investigation. The Court noted the High Court had ignored the constable's own medical injury report and had substituted its opinion for that of the investigating agency at a premature stage. The quashing order was set aside, and police were directed to complete investigation into the constable's FIR expeditiously, given the matter had already dragged on for nearly 15 years.

Lesson Learnt

Courts should not quash a First Information Report at the threshold merely on a presumption of mala fide intent (such as being a "counter-FIR"); genuine factual disputes, including supporting medical evidence, must be allowed to be investigated and tested through the normal process rather than cut short.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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