Case: State of Bihar Vs. Sri Rajendra Agrawalla

3. Shri Uddai Singh, Sub-Inspector of Police, Dhanbad Police Station was on duty at the police station on 8-1-1992. At 5.15 p.m. two Constables brought a truck bearing Registration No. HRX-3125 along with its driver, Khalasi and two other persons and reported that they found the truck coming speedly and crossing the Railway gate and did not stop even though the vehicles was asked to stop. They, therefore, chased the vehicle and stopped the same after some time and found that the truck had been loaded with pieces of iron tracks which were the property of B.C.C.L. On their enquiry about the documents, a copy of challan was shown but suspecting something wrong they brought the truck with the persons to the Police Station. The Sub-Inspector then found on checking found that most of the iron loaded on the truck were the pieces of the track trolley used in B.C.C.L. On suspicion the Sub-Inspector asked the driver who told that the truck has been loaded from the factory of Rajendra Agarwalla, the respondent in this appeal and one Surendra Agarwalla, proprietor of Associate Iron and Steel Company at Saraidhella had purchased the same. But they could not produce any document. He therefore submitted a report to the Inspector-cum-Officer-in-Charge of the Police Station alleging that the accused persons are guilty of offence under Section 414 of I.P.C. and the said report was treated as First Information Report. After investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the respondent and five other persons on 21-1-1992. In G.R. Case No. 107 of 1992, the learned Magistrate on perusal of the papers submitted by the police and all other relevant materials took cognizance of the offence in question on 1-2-1992. The respondent thereafter filed application in the Patna High Court at Ranchi Bench invoking the jurisdiction of the Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for quashing the order of cognizance taken and the said application was registered as Criminal Case No. 475 of 1992. The learned Judge by the impugned order having quashed the cognizance taken by the Magistrate so far as the respondent is concerned, the State has approached this Court.

Reasoning: When the remedy under Section 482 is available, the High Court would be loath and circumspect to exercise its extraordinary power under Article 226 since efficacious remedy under Section 482 of the Code is available. When the Court exercises its inherent power under Section 482 the prime consideration should only be whether the exercise of the power would advance the cause of justice or it would be an abuse of the process of the court. When the investigation officer spends considerable time to collect the evidence and places the charge-sheet before the Court, further action should not be short-circuited by resorting to exercise of inherent power to quash the charge-sheet. The social stability and order requires to be regulated by proceeding against the offender as it is an offence against the society as a whole. This cardinal principle should always be kept in mind before embarking upon exercising inherent power.Bearing in mind the aforesaid parameters if the charge-sheet and the FIR filed in the case in hand are examined and the impugned order of the High Court is tested, the conclusion becomes irresistible that the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by trying to appreciate the evidence and coming to a conclusion that no offence is made out. On examining the material on record and the impugned judgment of the High Court we are of the considered opinion that the High Court was wholly unjustified in invoking its inherent power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to quash the cognizance taken inasmuch as the allegation in the FIR and material referred to in the charge-sheet do make out an offence under Section 414 of the Indian Penal Code, so far as the respondent is concerned.