PEVINDER KUMAR Vs. MANOJ JOSHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant petition, invoking provisions of Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'Cr.PC'), has been preferred for quashing proceedings pending in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nahan, District Sirmaur, in Complaint No.13/2 of 2019, titled as Manoj Joshi vs. Divya Himachal and another, under Ss. 500, 501 and 120B read with Sec. 34 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC').

(2.) The matter in brief, in issue, is that in July 2017 an FIR No.97 of 2017, dtd. 6/7/2017 was registered in Police Station Kotkhai, District Shimla, H.P., under Ss. 302, 376 IPC and Sec. 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as 'POCSO Act'), regarding an unfortunate incident of rape and murder of a minor school girl. At that time, respondent No.1 was working as Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Theog, District Shimla, H.P. and was Supervisory Officer of Police Station Kotkhai, District Shimla, H.P. During investigation, a suspect, arrested by the police, died in Police Station and on account of that custodial death, an FIR No.101 of 2017, dtd. 19/7/2017 was also registered in Police Station Kotkhai. Lateron, investigation of both cases was handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and, on 22/7/2017 CBI re-registered aforesaid cases as RC.8(S)/2017/CBI/SC-1/New Delhi, under Ss. 302, 376 of IPC and Sec. 4 of POCSO Act and case No.RC.9(S)/CBI/SC-1/New Delhi, with respect to custodial death of accused.

(3.) A matter related to the aforesaid incidents, was also pending adjudication before the Division Bench of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, wherein CBI was filing status reports and the Court had also implicated Police Officers Zahoor Zaidi, Deep Chand, Manoj Joshi (petitioner), Rajinder Singh, Bhajan Dev Negi, Rattan Singh, Dharam Sain and Rajiv Kumar, as respondents with a direction to them to file their individual affidavits for placing on record their version in the matters.