# Suresh Kumar Mishra v. State of U.P. & Ors

- **Citation:** (2024) 5 ILRA 1810
- **Court:** High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
- **Decided:** 2024-05-07
- **Case number:** Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 4729 of 2024
- **Bench:** Siddharth, Vinod Diwakar
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/allahabad-high-court/suresh-kumar-mishra-v-state-of-u-p-ors-51891
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

Art. 226 of the Constitution of India- F.I.R.
quashing-Allegation-Petitioner in connivance of
the staff and officers of the ARTO-released 304
vehicles against forged receipts-caused massive
loss to the government treasury-ramifications of
fraud by the court staff are far -reaching and
detrimental to justice system-allegations clearly
constitute a cognizable offence-Petitioner is not
cooperating with the Investigation Officer

W.P. dismissed. (E-9)

List of Cases cited:

## Text

1810 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
legal and valid, and thus, claimed a
permanent injunction restraining defendant
from claiming plaintiff as her husband and
temporary injunction. It is noticeable that
the suit was not based on any ground
specified under Section 11 or Section 12 of
the Act or under the provisions of Special
Marriage Act. In the aforesaid case, after the
death of the plaintiff, his mother applied
under Order 22 Rule 3 of CPC to be added
as a legal representative of the plaintiff. The
civil suit was filed on the regular side and
was not filed under the provisions of Hindu
Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act. It
was held that the suit was not barred either
under Section under Section 34 of the Specific
Relief Act or under the provisions of Sections
7 and 8 of the Family Court Act. It was held
that the High Court erred in setting aside the
order allowing the application for substitution
of legal representative on the ground that after
death of the plaintiff no right to sue survived
in favour of the plaintiff's mother. In the
aforesaid case, provisions of Section 34 of the
Specific Relief Act, Sections 7 and 8 of the
Family Court Act and Sections 11 and 12 of
the Hindu Marriage Act were considered.
While interpreting such provisions, Hon'ble
Apex Court has referred to another judgment
in the case of Yallawwa vs. Shantavva,
(1997) 11 SCC 159. Paragraph 17 of Samar
Kumar Roy (supra) is quoted as under:

"17. This Court has referred to
personal causes of action and held in
Yallawwa v. Shantavva which reads as
follows: (SCC pp. 168-69, para 6)"

"6??. Save and except the personal
cause of action which dies with the deceased
on the principle of actio personalis moritur
cum persona i.e. a personal cause of action
dies with the person, all the rest of the causes
of action which have an impact on proprietary
rights and socio-legal status of the parties
cannot be said to have died with such a
person."
(Emphasis Supplied)

29. In this background, it is clear that in
such matters the declaration would have an
impact on proprietary rights and socio-legal
status of the parties cannot be said to have died
with such a person.

30. In view of the discussions made
hereinabove, it can safely be concluded that
after death of the husband who has filed a
petition under Section 11 of the Act the parents
have a right to be substituted as legal
representatives under Order 22 Rule 3 CPC to
pursue the proceedings. The second question
is also accordingly answered in affirmative.

31. In such view of the matter, it is clear
that if it is being claimed that the marriage is
void, legal representative can be impleaded /
substituted to pursue the petition filed under
Section 11 of the Act.

32. In view of the above, we find no
illegality or infirmity in the order impugned.

33. The appeal is devoid of merit and is
accordingly, dismissed.
----------
(2024) 5 ILRA 1810
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL SIDE
DATED: ALLAHABAD 07.05.2024

BEFORE

THE HON'BLE SIDDHARTH, J.
THE HON'BLE VINOD DIWAKAR, J.

Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 4729 of 2024

Suresh Kumar Mishra ...Petitioner
Versus
State of U.P. & Ors. ...Respondents
5 All. Suresh Kumar Mishra Vs. State of U.P. & Ors.
1811
Counsel for the Petitioner:
Sri Rudra Kant Mishra, Sri Satya Prakash
Pandey

Counsel for the Respondents:
G.A.

Art. 226 of the Constitution of India- F.I.R.
quashing-Allegation-Petitioner in connivance of
the staff and officers of the ARTO-released 304
vehicles against forged receipts-caused massive
loss to the government treasury-ramifications of
fraud by the court staff are far -reaching and
detrimental to justice system-allegations clearly
constitute a cognizable offence-Petitioner is not
cooperating with the Investigation Officer

W.P. dismissed. (E-9)

List of Cases cited:

1. Karnataka SRTC Vs M.G. Vittal Rao, (2012) 1
SCC 442

2. Ajit Kumar Nag Vs Indian Oil Corpn. Ltd (2005)
7 SCC 764

3. St. of Har. & ors. Vs Bhajan Lal & ors., 1992
Supp. (1) SCC 335

(Delivered by Hon'ble Vinod Diwakar, J.)

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner,
learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the
record.

2. The petitioner has approached this Court
through the instant writ petition to issue a writ,
order or direction in the nature of mandamus to
quash the impugned F.I.R. dated 27.4.20223
bearing Case Crime No.236 of 2023, under
sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B I.P.C.,
registered at Police Station Robertsganj, District
Sonebhadra, and further not to take any coercive
action against the petitioner.

3. On examination of the impugned
F.I.R., it reveals that a written complaint was
made to the S.H.O., P.S. Sonebhadra by the
petitioner, who was working as Senior
Assistant Clerk in the Court of learned Chief
Judicial
Magistrate,
Sonebhadra-
subsequently, the petitioner turned to be the
main accused in the instant F.I.R.- inter-alia
stating, in brief, a list of 629 case registered
under Motor Vehicles Act by the ARTO
Mirzapur
for
various
violations
was
received in the Court of learned Chief
Judicial
Magistrate,
Sonebhadra
for
conducting the proceeding in accordance
with the provision of Motor Vehicles Act. As
per the instructions from the Court, he
matched the list of 629 cases with the fine
register, receipt book and other records of
the Court and found that 304 cases had not
been dealt with by the Court and the
Challan/fine receipts were found to be
forged. On further examination, in seven
cases, clerical mistakes were observed; in
the rest of the cases, it was revealed that a
forgery had been committed in the original
receipt, and the amount of the fine was
found to be altered/modified clandestinely.
In most cases, such forged receipts were
issued on public holidays, during the
pandemic, when the Court was in recess, or
when the Presiding Officer was on leave.

4. On receipt of the written complaint
by the petitioner, the police registered the
impugned
F.I.R.
and
started
the
investigation. On perusal of the case diaries
produced by the State counsel, it's revealed
that the roles of the eight persons have
surfaced during the investigation, including
the petitioner, and therefore, all of them have
been arrayed as accused. Out of eight, two
persons have been arrested by the police;
two have got interim bail; one has died, and
three accused persons' arrest is yet to be
effected. The three accused, including the
petitioner,
are
absconding
and
not
cooperating
with
the
investigation.
1812 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
Therefore, police are conducting raids at
their residence and other places of possible
hide-outs.

5. The gist of the allegation is that
while working as Senior Assistant in the
Court
of
Chief
Judicial
Magistrate,
Sonebhadra, from October, 2020 till March,
2023, the petitioner, in connivance with the
staff and officers of the ARTO, released 304
vehicles against forged receipts, and caused
massive loss to the government treasury by
playing fraud upon the court proceedings.

6. The co-accused Prabhat Kumar
Sharma, who was working under the
supervision of the petitioner, was arrested on
13.12.2023 and on his statement role of the
petitioner has surfaced. In the account of
accused Prabhat Sharma through e-banking,
phone-pe, and google-pe, numerous truck
owners and Advocates have deposited a
considerable amount to the extent of Rs.20
lacs. It is further revealed that after
depositing the cash in his account, it was
withdrawn on the same day and handed over
to the petitioner. The forged challan receipts
used to release the vehicle by the office of
ARTO were used as genuine and uploaded
on the R.T.O. website by the petitioner and
his staff in collusion with the staff/employee
of the ARTO office.

7. A disclosure statement of the
accused, Virendra Kumar @ Guddu Patel,
was also recorded; he inter-alia confessed
his role in the commission of a crime and
stated that he has worked as a Clerk in the
R.T.O. during 2020-2022, as he had good
knowledge of the computer. Therefore, he
assisted Vinod Srivastava, Harish Chandra,
Ajit Mishra and Pankaj Patel, who also
worked in the ARTO office. Ajit Mishra's
work was to bring documents from the
courts; on Vinod Srivastava and Harish
Chandra's instruction, he collected fine from
the vehicles' owners, and the same was
distributed among the accused persons interse. A significant share was deposited with
Suresh Mishra, the petitioner working in the
C.J.M. court. After receipt of his share, the
petitioner issued forged duplicate receipts to
release the vehicles.

8. The Investigating Officer also
recorded
Jitendra
Maurya's
statement,
which revealed the Petitioner's Specific
Role. Mr. Jitendra Maurya was the owner of
the motorcycle bearing UP-64-S-4904,
along with other truck and bike owners, and
in his statement, the petitioner's role has also
been revealed.

9. Learned counsel for the petitioner
inter-alia submits (i) the petitioner is a
complainant in the present case; therefore,
he cannot be implicated as an accused; (ii)
the petitioner has been exonerated in the
Departmental Inquiry conducted by Smt.
Niharika Chauhan, learned Special Judge,
POCSO Act, Sonbhadra and relied upon a
letter dated 26.7.2023 issued by the
Confidential Section of this Court; (iii) there
is no incriminating evidence come forth
during
the
investigation
against
the
petitioner; (iv) the petitioner has been
falsely implicated in the instant case merely
on the statement of co-accused Prabhat
Sharma, who was working under the control
and supervision of petitioner; (v) it is a case
of malicious prosecution and there is no
criminal history of any kind against the
petitioner; (vi) petitioner is working as
Central Nazir in the Judgeship of District
Sonbhadra and undertakes to cooperate with
the investigation.

10. Learned counsel for the petitioner
has heavily relied upon a letter dated
26.7.2023 in which he was exonerated from
5 All. Suresh Kumar Mishra Vs. State of U.P. & Ors.
1813
all the charges in the administrative inquiry;
therefore, sensing the seriousness of the
issue, this Court deemed it appropriate to
look into the inquiry report and summoned
the proceedings of the inquiry vide order
dated 15.4.2024 from the District Court,
Sonbhadra, to reach a just and logical
conclusion.

11. On examination of the record, it's
revealed that the petitioner has been
exonerated from the charges levelled by Shri
Anil Kumar Singh, practising Advocate in
District Court, Sonebhadra, on whose
complaint
the
Hon'ble Administrative
Judge, District Sonebhadra, directed the
District Judge, Sonebhadra, to initiate
inquiry against the petitioner. Needless to
mention, Shri Anil Kumar Singh, Advocate,
who was examined as CW-1 on 29.3.2023,
resiled from his earlier statement dated
29.3.2023 and "not pressed" his complaint
in his supplementary statement recorded on
27.4.2023.

12. The law is settled in this regard, and the
Supreme Court has taken a consistent view in a
series of judgments that it is beyond debate that
criminal proceedings are distinct from civil
proceedings. It is possible in disciplinary matters
to establish charges against a delinquent official
by a preponderance of probabilities and
consequently terminate his services. But the
same set of evidence may not be sufficient to
take away his liberty under our criminal law
jurisprudence1.
Such
distinction
between
standards of proof amongst civil and criminal
litigation is deliberate, given the differences in
stakes, the power imbalance between the parties
and the social costs of an erroneous decision.
Thus, in a disciplinary enquiry, strict rules of
evidence and procedure of a criminal trial are
inapplicable, like, statements made before
enquiry officers can be relied upon in certain
instances2.

13. The nagging question before this Court
is whether the petitioner's case falls under the
category of cases illustrated by State of Haryana
and others v. Bhajan Lal and others3 case for
exercising the extraordinary power of the High
Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India.

14. We have gone through the entire
materials placed before us scrupulously, but we
are not persuaded to hold that the allegations
made in the impugned F.I.R. and the material
collected during the investigation lacks bonafide
making the entire proceedings vitiated under
law. The petitioner is on the run, and the police
are conducting raids at the possible hide-outs of
the petitioner. Such a large-scale organized fraud
can't be executed without the active connivance
of the office of the Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Shonbhadra. As the investigation is at the premature stage and the role of the petitioner has
surfaced as a kingpin in executing the crime,
therefore, it's not possible to anticipate the result
of the investigation and render a finding on the
question of malate ideas on the material at
present available. Therefore, we are unable to see
any force in the contentions of the learned
counsel for the petitioner. Moreover, there are
serious allegations which have to be weighed
after the evidence is collected. It is a wellestablished proposition of law that a criminal
investigation, if otherwise justifiable, does not
become vitiated on account of the departmental
inquiry.

15. In the backdrop of the material
collected by the Investigating Officer qua
petitioner, we are not persuaded to hold that
the investigation is manifestly attended with
malafide and/or the proceeding is maliciously
instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking
vengeance on the petitioner and with a view to
spite him due to private and personal grudge. At
this stage, we cannot embark upon a roving
1814 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
inquiry as to the reliability, genuineness, or
otherwise correctness of the allegations made in
the F.I.R., and the extraordinary and inherent
powers do not confer an arbitrary jurisdiction on
this Court to act to its whim or caprice.

16. The ramifications of fraud by the court
staff are far-reaching and detrimental to the justice
system and erode the public trust in the judiciary.
When court staff abuse their authority for personal
gain, it compromises the integrity of judicial
decisions and raises questions about the
legitimacy of legal proceedings.

17. Reverting to the materials placed before
us, which surfaced during the investigation, in our
considered opinion, the allegations against the
petitioner do clearly constitute a cognizable
offence justifying the registration of F.I.R. and the
investigation thereon, this case does not fall under
any of the categories of the cases formulated in
Bhajan Lal's case (supra) calling for the exercise
of extraordinary jurisdiction to the High Court to
quash the F.I.R. itself.

18. As the petitioner is not cooperating
with the Investigating Officer, the police are
conducting raids on his hide-outs; there is
serious apprehension to the police that the
petitioner may tamper with the evidence and
influence the witnesses to be conversant with
the proceedings of the criminal case, as had
worked in the Court of Chief Judicial
Magistrate and presently working/posted as
Central Nazir in District Court, Sonebhadra;
therefore, the prayer for a stay on arrest is
hereby declined.

19. As delineated herein above, primafacie, the allegations are serious, and the
potential accused are resourceful. Therefore, a
thorough and unbiased investigation shall be
conducted without being influenced by
external influences for extraneous reasons.
The I.G. Police, Varanasi Zone shall supervise
the
overall
investigation,
and
the
Superintendent of Police, Sonebhadra in coordination with DIG Police, Mirzapur Range
shall supervise the day-to-day investigation.

20. The instant writ petition is dismissed,
with
the
direction
to
complete
the
investigation at the earliest. Furthermore, it is
directed that the I.G. Police, Varanasi Zone
shall ensure that the Investigating Officer
avails all available scientific and forensic
assistance
in
collecting
evidence,
as
permissible under law. If allegations of
corruption and criminal breach of trust by a
government servant emerge during the
investigation, all relevant aspects shall be
thoroughly examined by the police.

21. The observations made herein above
shall have no bearing on an ongoing
investigation.

22. Let a copy of this order be
transmitted to the I.G. Police, Varanasi Zone
and SSP Sonebhadra for immediate and
effective compliance.
----------
(2024) 5 ILRA 1814
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL SIDE
DATED: ALLAHABAD 21.05.2024

BEFORE

THE HON'BLE RAHUL CHATURVEDI, J.
THE HON'BLE MOHD. AZHAR HUSAIN
IDRISI, J.

Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 13460 of 2023

Manoj Kumar Gupta & Ors. ...Petitioners
Versus
State of U.P. & Ors. ...Respondents

Counsel for the Petitioners:
Sri Baleshwar Chaturvedi, Sri Mukesh Kumar
Singh