VINOD BIHARI LAL Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Criminal Appeal No. 777 of 2025 arises out of the judgment (hereinafter referred to as "impugned judgment"), passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad dtd. 19/4/2023 in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 36921 of 2019, whereby the High Court rejected the application filed by the appellant herein under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the CrPC") for quashing of the proceedings of Special Sessions Trial No. 54 of 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "impugned proceedings"), arising out of FIR No. 850 of 2018 (hereinafter referred to as "subject FIR"), under Sec. (s) 2 and 3 respectively of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters & Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 (for short, "the Act of 1986") lodged at P.S. Naini, District Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

(2.) Whereas, the Criminal Appeal No. 778 of 2025 arises out of the order (hereinafter referred to as the "impugned order"), passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 10817 of 2023 dtd. 19/4/2023, whereby the High Court rejected the application filed by the appellant under Sec. 482 of the CrPC for quashing of non-bailable warrants issued against the appellant vide orders dtd. 28/2/2023 and 14/3/2023 respectively, passed by the Special Judge (Gangster Act), Allahabad in the impugned proceedings.

(3.) The impugned proceedings arise out of the subject FIR, which came to be registered against the appellant on 28/7/2018 at the instance of the Station House Officer (SHO), P.S. Naini. The FIR alleges that upon visits to certain areas, it was ascertained that the appellant, alongwith one David Dutta, constitute an organized gang in terms of Sec. 2(b) of the Act of 1986, with the appellant acting as its leader. It is further alleged that the gang is adept at committing economic offences involving fraud and cheating, being offences of the kind, described in Chapters XVI, XVII, and XXII of the IPC respectively for personal, material, and pecuniary gain for themselves by forging documents. On the basis of the following base FIRs, the subject FIR was registered: <IMG>JUDGEMENT_144_LAWS(SC)5_2025_1.jpg</IMG> <IMG>JUDGEMENT_144_LAWS(SC)5_2025_2.jpg</IMG> <IMG>JUDGEMENT_144_LAWS(SC)5_2025_3.jpg</IMG>