SC tells HC not to quash criminal proceedings till probe is complete

New Delhi, Aug 6 (UNI) In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has held that high courts should not use their inherent powers under section 482 Cr P C to quash criminal proceedings till the completion of the investigation.

The apex court allowed a criminal appeal filed by the state of Karnataka against the state high court judgment on February 23, 2005, quashing the proceedings against the respondent Pastor P Raju initiated under section 153-B IPC for instigating the followers of Hinduism to convert to Christianity.

A bench comprising Mr Justice G P Mathur and Mr Justice Dalveer Bhandari in its judgment on August 4 ruled, ''It is important to note that on the view taken by the high court, no person accused of an offence, which is of the nature which requires previous sanction of a specified authority before taking of cognisance by the court, can ever be arrested nor such an offence can be investigated by the police.

The high court had quashed the proceediongs on the ground that sanction under section 196(1) Cr P C was not obtained before registration of the case and hence the proceedings were illegal.

The apex court further ruled ''The specified authority empowered to grant sanction does so after applying its mind to the material collected during the course of investigation. There is no occasion for grant of sanction soon after FIR is lodged nor such a power can be exercised before completion of the investigation and collection of the evidence. Therefore the whole premises on the basis of which the proceedings have been quashed by the high court is wholly erroneous in law and is liable to be set aside.'' The accused, on January 14, 2005 when people were celebrating Sankranti at Rampura, Channapatna, came to the spot and made an appeal to the people to embrace Christianity as they would get many benefits and facilities which were not available to them as Hindus.

It was resented by the people present there, creating tension.

A criminal case was registered on January 15, 2005 and a petition filed on January 27, 2005 and the proceedings were quashed by the high court on February 23, 2005 when the investigation was still on.

The Supreme Court in its concluding remarks observed, ''Power can be exercised to quash the criminal proceedings pending in any court but the power cannot be exercised to interfere with the statutory power of the police to conduct investigation in a cognizable offence. This being the settled legal position, the high court ought not to have interfered with and quashed the entire proceedings in exercise of power conferred by section 482 Cr P C when the matter was still at the investigation stage.'' The apex court also described as wholly unjustified the sweeping remarks made by the high court that initiation of criminal proceedings was an abuse of the courts process court and miscarriage of justice.

The court, however, made it clear that any observation made in this order was only for the limited purpose of deciding the appeal and would not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.

UNI AKS/SC MSJ DB1012