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Police will be asked not to act arbitrarily in trade matters: UP official assures Allahabad HC
State govt will issue proper guidelines, Uttar Pradesh’s additional chief secretary (Home) tells Allahabad high court
Uttar Pradesh’s additional chief secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi on Wednesday assured the Allahabad high court that the state government will issue proper guidelines, directing the police authorities not to act arbitrarily in matters related to trade and business.
The senior bureaucrat gave this assurance after the court pointed out that it was regularly coming across cases in which the police were arbitrarily registering FIRs (First Information Reports) under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against traders and businessmen in commercial matters.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the high court directed Awasthi, and Jalaun superintendent of police Ravi Kumar and sub-inspector Kedar Singh of Nadi Gaon police station in Jalaun to remain present before the high court to show cause why appropriate orders may not be passed and why exemplary cost may not be imposed on them for filing misleading affidavits in a case.
The bench comprising Justice SP Kesarwani and Justice Piyush Agrawal was hearing a petition filed by one Vishal Gupta seeking the quashing of an FIR in a case of cheating and for disobeying an order by a public servant, registered on February 20, 2021.
In the petition, it was stated that the petitioner was engaged in the supply of goods. As per allegations, the petitioner was carrying eight bundles of betel nuts and tobacco in his vehicle and, on being asked by the sub- inspector, the petitioner could not show valid papers relating to the transportation of betel-nuts and tobacco. For that reason, the impugned FIR was registered under Sections 420 and 188 of the IPC, the petition said.
On Wednesday, the ACS (Home) and the Jalaun SP appeared before court and filed personal affidavits, stating that action had been taken against the erring police officers in the case and a final report had been filed after investigation.
The court said that such arbitrary acts of the police registering FIRs in cases involving transportation of goods in the ordinary course of business was denting the policy of “ease of doing business” of the state.
On Wednesday, by filing another affidavit, the ACS (Home) apprised the court that a final report had been filed in the case. At this, the court dismissed the petition as infructuous since the final report was filed and no grievance of the petitioner was left.
Earlier, on August 13, the court had observed that the FIR “reflects ill intention of the informant (sub-inspector) and obstruction in free flow of trade and commerce” and directed the respondent authorities to file a counter-affidavit (reply) in the case.
On August 18, a counter-affidavit was filed by the Jalaun SP in which neither pleas made by petitioners were replied nor queries of the court were answered.
The court, on this, directed the additional chief secretary (Home) to file a personal affidavit in the case by August 24, which was filed on August 23.
On Tuesday, the court, after perusing personal affidavits, filed by ACS (Home) and the Jalaun SP had asked the officers to remain present in court for having filed “misleading” affidavits.
During the course of the hearing, the court gave an example of another case related to matrimonial dispute in which a wife had lodged an FIR under various sections of IPC and the district magistrate (DM) had passed an order against the husband under provisions of the Goonda Act.
The court citing this case said that the government must ask DMs to apply their mind and not pass orders under the Goonda Act in a casual manner.
“If an order, under the provisions of Goonda Act, is passed by the DM even in a matrimonial dispute in such a casual manner, one can imagine the impact of it on the common man,” the court said while asking the ACS (Home) to address the issue.
