SALMAN KHURSHID Vs. STATE NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions arise out of various orders relating to a criminal case pending on the file of the Metropolitan Magistrate, South-East District at Saket Courts Complex, New Delhi and have given rise to certain common questions of fact and law and, therefore, on the request of all parties, have been heard together and are being decided through this common judgment. It may be mentioned here that the criminal case relates to first information report (FIR) no.421/2015 of police station Amar Colony, which was registered on 31.03.2015, on the complaint of Rear Admiral M.M. Chopra, described as ViceChairman of Delhi Public School Society ("DPS Society") respecting an incident that had statedly occurred from about 9.30 a.m. onwards on 30.03.2015 in the office of DPS Society located at F Block, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110 065.

(2.) On the allegations made in the complaint dated 30.03.2015 which formed the basis of the above-said FIR, the police initially took it to be a case involving offence punishable under Section 448 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), reference at that time having been made to the involvement of Dr. (Mrs.) Sharda Nayak (respondent in Crl. MC 175/2019 and Crl. Rev. 950/2018), she concededly being a life member of the said society. The initial investigation into the said FIR resulted in a report dated 18.02.2016 (charge-sheet) under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 being submitted in the court of the Metropolitan Magistrate on 01.03.2016 on the basis of which cognizance was taken for offence under Section 448 IPC whereby the afore-said respondent (Sharda Nayak) was summoned as an accused.

(3.) By order dated 01.03.2017, the request of investigating agency for "further investigation" was allowed by the Metropolitan Magistrate and this eventually led to a supplementary report (supplementary charge-sheet) dated 15.12.2017 being submitted whereby request was made for prosecution of certain others to be initiated, they including petitioner Mr. Salman Khurshid (Crl. MC 4551/2018) and petitioner S.R. Vaish - also described as Satyajit Vaish - (Crl. M.C. 5069/2018), the investigating agency requesting for cognizance to be taken and trial to be held for offences under Sections 419, 451, 474, 120B IPC.