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Shaikh Ansar Ahmad Md Husain v. The State of Maharashtra

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 614Decided 5 Oct 2021
Civil Appeal No. 695 of 2021
Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice S. Ravindra Bhat

Background

This was a batch of connected civil and criminal appeals (Civil Appeal No. 695/2021 and several tagged appeals) arising from a common judgment of the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court in a criminal PIL. Social activists and former councillors of Naldurg municipality had alleged misappropriation of government funds meant for a central housing scheme (the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme) implemented through the Maharashtra Housing and Urban Development Authority (MHADA), and sought criminal action against responsible officials and contractors. The appellants, municipal officials and others implicated, challenged the High Court's directions and the resulting FIR/criminal proceedings against them.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the record disclosed materials suggesting serious irregularities in implementation of the housing scheme, and that the government itself had conceded in an affidavit that criminal proceedings would be initiated. Relying on the settled position from Lalita Kumari that police ordinarily must register an FIR when information discloses a cognizable offence (without a preliminary inquiry), the Court held the police had correctly registered the FIR and the High Court's directions were properly confined to that extent. It clarified that neither the High Court's observations nor its own would preclude the appellants from raising any defence on the merits in the criminal proceedings, and dismissed the appeals without any order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Once information discloses a cognizable offence, police are generally bound to register an FIR without first holding a preliminary inquiry; and directions or observations made by courts at an interim/PIL stage do not predetermine guilt: an accused retains the full right to raise all defences at trial.

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

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