PAWAN KUMAR Vs. UT OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners through the medium of this petition filed in terms of Sec. 482 CrPC, invoking inherent jurisdiction, seek quashment of FIR No. 0305/2020 (in short, 'impugned FIR") registered at Police Station, Domana, Jammu for commission of offences punishable under Ss. 420, 120-B IPC and Ss. 3 and 4 of the Gambling Act, alleging that the case has been registered against them at the instance of some unknown persons, who may have vengeance against them and the impugned FIR is a mere abuse of process of law, as the police is being used as a tool to settle personal score of those unknown persons, which is well evident as to how the impugned FIR came to be registered and the petitioners, who happen to be father and son were arrested in the case.

(2.) It has been pleaded that perusal of the impugned FIR clearly shows that 'prima-facie", commission of offences punishable under Ss. 420 and 120-B IPC is not made out, as on vague allegations without there being any specific name of an aggrieved party, the ingredients of offence under Sec. 420 IPC cannot be constituted. It has been further pleaded that the necessary ingredients to constitute the offences punishable under Ss. 3 and 4 of the Act are also not satisfied, as neither there had been any gaming house, as defined under the Act nor anybody was found gaming in the room, wherefrom the alleged recovery of some amount, which has been kept by the petitioners for their personal use had been recovered. It was finally submitted that the registration of the case vide impugned FIR, is an abuse of process of law and that the same is liable to be quashed.

(3.) Pursuant to notice, the respondent filed reply/status report to the petition, asserting therein that on 31/10/2020, an information from reliable sources was received at Police Station, Domana that one person, namely, Pawan Kumar (petitioner No. 1 herein) having two Mobile Nos. 6005865165 and 9149585929 and one-Abhimaniyu Takiya @ Chinku, S/O Vinod Takiya, R/O, 93-F, Lane No. 04, Shakti Nagar, Jammu having Mobile No. 9906074007 alongwith some other persons under a criminal conspiracy have been indulging in betting in IPL Season 2020 Match at his own shops at Gho Manhasan, Jammu and cheated fraudulently many people of the area; that based on this information, a case was registered vide impugned FIR for commission of offences punishable under Ss. 420, 120-B IPC and Ss. 3 and 4 of the Gambling Act against those persons. During the course of investigation, ASI-Mohinder Lal, investigating officer, visited on spot and arrested both the petitioners and one-Gagandeep Singh @ Illu, who were involved in the commission of crime and as per their disclosure, one mobile set and one diary and cash worth Rs.69,990.00 (Rupees Sixty Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety) were recovered and thereafter, after recording of the statements of the witnesses and during investigation, it was found that Pawan Kumar and Paras Gupta (petitioners herein) besides Gagandeep Singh @ Illu and Nipul Sharma @ Chicku were found in the commission of aforementioned offences and concluded the investigation into charge-sheet, which is awaiting orders of this Court for being produced in the Court of law.