V ETIAPPAN Vs. S P CHINGLEPUT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are arraigned as accused in Crime No. 404 of 2001 on the file of the second respondent police station on the basis of a complaint lodged by one K. Raghavan on 4.6.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406 and 506(H), I.P.C. with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 21.4.2000, wherein the petitioners/accused were said to have collected a sum of Rs. 1,050 from each of the 600 families living in Bharathiar Nagar within the jurisdiction of the Neelankarai Police Station, representing that they would get free patta for 600 houses; and on questioning by the complainant and similarly placed persons for not getting free patta to any of the 600 houses, the accused scolded and threatened them with a gun that they would do away the complainant and others. However, similar crimes were also registered by the second respondent on the complaint lodged by different persons for similar offences, which are stated below: (i)"Crime No.497 of 2001 lodged by one P. Shanmugam on 6.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 6.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C.; (ii)"Crime No.498 of 2001 lodged by one G.K. Elumalai on 6.7.2001 with regard to an occurrence said to have taken place on 6.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (iii)"Crime No. 504 of 2001 lodged by one Sankaran on 6.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 6.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C.; (iv)"Crime No.505 of 2001 lodged by one N. Arumugam on 7.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 7.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (v)"Crime No. 507 of 2001 lodged by one M. Lakshmanan on 8.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 8.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (vi)"Crime No.508 of 2001 lodged by one K. Malaiyappan on 8.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 8.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C.; (vii)"Crime No.5l0 of 2001 lodged by one Sundar Raj on 9.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 9.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (viii)"Crime No. 511 of 2001 lodged by one Kesavan on 9.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 9.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (ix)"Crime No. 517 of 2001 lodged by one Munusamy on 10.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 10.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (x)"Crime No. 518 of 2001 lodged by one Venkatesan on 10.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 10.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; (xi)"Crime No. 519 of 2001 lodged by one Siva on 11.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 11.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C.; (xii)"Crime No. 520 of 2001 lodged by one Kumar on 11.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 11.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C.; (xiii)"Crime No.529 of 2001 lodged by one Ramachandran on 13.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 13.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs.420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C; and (xiv)"Crime No. 530 of 2001 lodged by one Parimala on 13.7.2001 with regard to an alleged occurrence said to have taken place on 13.7.2001 for the offences punishable under Secs. 420, 406, 341 and 506(ii), I.P.C.

(2.) MR.R. Shanmugasundran, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners, placing reliance on the decision in T. T.Antony v. State of Kerala , (2001)6 S.C.C. 181. seeks to quash Crime Nos.504, 498, 518, 520, 510, 529, 517, 519, 507, 505, 497, 508, 530 and 511 of 2001 in Crl.O.P. Nos.15919 to 15932 of 2001 respectively, contends that there can be no second F.I.R. and no fresh investigation on receipt of every subsequent information in respect of the same cognizable offence or same occurrence, giving rise to one or more cognizable offences; and that the only information about commission of a cognizable offence which is first entered in the Station House Diary by the officer in charge of the police station, can be recorded as F.I.R under Sec. 154, Crl.P.C. and such subsequent information will be covered by Sec. 162, Crl.P.C.