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Judgment
Alok Singh
Petitioner was posted as Police Inspector in P.S.- Doranda in the year 2010. Petitioner had submitted a report to the S.D.M., Sadar, Ranchi, recommending to take action against Sardar Yogendra Singh as well as Arun Kumar Singh u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C., on the ground that there was apprehension of breach of peace pertaining to the possession over the property in question. On the report of the petitioner, learned S.D.M., Sadar, Ranchi, had taken cognizance and initiated proceedings u/s 144 Cr.P.C. by registering the case No. M- 432 of 2010. Sardar Yogendra Singh thereafter had moved an application before the Inspector General of Police, Ranchi stating that petitioner- Police Inspector under the influence and in connivance with the second party- Arun Kumar Singh, had submitted wrong report before the S.D.M., Sadar, Ranchi, recommending to take action u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C. On the application so moved, Inspector General of Police had asked the Superintendent of Police, City, Ranchi, to submit his report. The Superintendent of Police, City, Ranchi, had submitted in his report that a collusive report was forwarded by the petitioner to the S.D.M., Sadar, Ranchi, to take action u/s 144 Cr.P.C., under the influence of Arun Kumar Singh and, in fact, at the most, report could have been forwarded u/s 107 Cr.P.C. Accepting the report of the Superintendent of Police, City, Ranchi, D.I.G., South Chhotanagpur Region, Ranchi, vide impugned order dated 09.08.2011, had found the petitioner guilty for misconduct in submitting wrong report u/s 144 Cr.P.C. and had imposed the penalty of ''Black Mark''.
Feeling aggrieved, petitioner had preferred statutory appeal before the Director General of Police, which was dismissed, vide order dated 08.05.2012. Petitioner thereafter preferred present writ petition assailing both the orders.
Mr. Ananda Sen, learned counsel for the petitioner has vehemently argued that report so submitted by the petitioner was accepted by the learned Magistrate by taking cognizance thereon u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C. Mr. Sen has further argued that if a judicial forum has taken cognizance, then senior police officer has no competence to say that report should have been submitted u/s 107 Cr.P.C. and should have not been submitted u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C. According to Mr. Sen, the police officer cannot be permitted to sit over the judgment of the judicial forum.
On the other hand, Mr. Mohan Kumar Dubey, leaned J.C. to Advocate General, has contended that higher police officers are competent to watch and see the conduct of the subordinate police officers. He has further contended that once it is found that petitioner- Police Inspector has misconducted himself by submitting wrong report, imposition of penalty is totally justified.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the record, I find that on the report of the petitioner- Police Inspector, learned S.D.M., Sadar, Ranchi, has taken cognizance thereon and has initiated the proceeding u/s 144 Cr.P.C. It was well within the jurisdiction of the learned Executive Magistrate, instead of taking cognizance u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C., to issue notice to the parties to the dispute u/s 107 Cr.P.C. Once the Magistrate has opted to initiate proceeding u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C., then in the opinion of this Court, it was not open for the Superintendent of Police, City, Ranchi or to the D.I.G. to say that, in fact, report should have been submitted u/s 107 Cr.P.C. Moreover, none of the police officer is saying there was no dispute apprehending the breach of peace. Indirectly, they are saying, of course, there was dispute between the parties and report should have been submitted u/s 107 Cr.P.C., instead of Section 145 Cr.P.C. If factum of apprehension of breach of peace is not denied by the police officer, then holding the petitioner guilty on account of submission of report u/s 144/ 145 Cr.P.C., instead of Section 107 Cr.P.C., seems to be totally unjustified, which cannot be sustained in the eyes of law. Consequently, present petition is allowed. Impugned orders are hereby set aside.