Vijay Pal vs State of Uttarakhand and others

By means of present writ petition, the petitioner seeks the following reliefs, among others:

(a) Issue a writ or order or direction in the nature of certiorari to quashing the impugned FIR dated 24.1.2018 registered as Case Crime No.

0042 of 2018 U/s 379, 411 of IPC & 4/21 Khanan Act at Police Station Vikas Nagar District Dehradun as against the petitioner.

(b) Issue a writ or order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent no. 2 to not to arrest the petitioner in pursuance of the

FIR dated 24.1.2018 registered as Case Crime No. 0042 of 2018 U/s 379,411 of IPC & 4/21 mining Act at Police Station Vikas Nagar District

Dehradun.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, learned counsel for the State, perused the documents brought on record and considered the grounds

taken up in the writ petition.

Without commenting upon the merits of the case, this Court proposes to pass the following order, in the interest of justice.

In view of the judgment rendered by Hon?ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar and another, reported in (2014) 8 Supreme

Court Cases 273, the petitioner should be arrested only when the Investigating Officer has reason to believe, on the basis of information and

material collected, that he has committed an offence. Before making arrest, the Investigating Officer is required to satisfy himself that the arrest is

necessary for one or more purposes envisaged by Sub-Clauses (a) to (e) of Clause (1) of Section 41 of Cr.P.C. It will not be based upon the ipse

dixit of the Police Officer. In other words, the petitioner shall be arrested only when the conditions stipulated in Sub-Clauses (a) to (e) of Clause

(1) of Section 41 of Cr.P.C. are satisfied.

Needless to say that the Investigating Officer of the case shall abide by the aforesaid directions of Hon?ble Apex Court, before affecting the

arrest, if any, of the petitioner.

Petitioner is directed to contact the Investigating Officer of the case on 14.02.2018, and on such subsequent dates as may be instructed by him

(I.O.) for interrogation and investigations.

When the investigation of the case will be conducted, it will either culminate into filing of the charge-sheet or submission of final report. This

Court has no occasion to interfere in the investigation in between.

Unless an extraordinary case of gross abuse of pow er is made out by that in-charge of investigation, the court should be quite loath to interfere

at the stage of investigation, a field of activity reserved for Police and Executive. {State of Bihar and another vs. J.A.C. Saldanha and others, 1980

SCC (Crl .) 272}. 9. Therefore, it will be of no use keeping the present criminal writ petition pending. Criminal Writ Petition is, accordingly,

disposed of at the admission stage itself, with the consent of learned counsel for the parties.

Urgency application stands disposed of.