U S DOUR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners have filed present petition for quashing of FIR No.11/2013 under Section 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act 2006 and Section 120-B RPC.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that petitioners Nos.1 to 6 have since now retired while petitioner Nos.7 to 9 are in service. In the year 2004-2005, the technical sanction to the estimate of WSS Kote-II was accorded for providing and laying dismantling/re-laying of GI Pipes of different dias on new alignment in the year 2004-2005 at actual reasonable rates for executing the work departmentally as per the prevailing market labour rates and the rates adopted by other Divisions of the PHE Department of Jammu region for the said Kandi terrain. The rates were kept within the permissible guidelines of 25% to 50% of the costs of pipes and dismantling at 50% of the laying costs. The Engineering Department has issued the guidelines that how much labour can be paid for laying or dismantling of pipes. That the respondent-State after the completion of work in the year 2005-06, initiated preliminary enquiry and the said enquiry was headed by one Dy.SP Ashok Singh Chib and Inspector conducted a joint surprise check in PHE Division Akhnoor and the record pertaining to two PHE Scheme i.e. WSS Kote-II and WSS Simbliwala for the year 2003-04 and 2004-05 seized. That after two months again a new officer re-opened the enquiry and the same was handed over to one Ashok Sharma SP of Vigilance Organization of Jammu registered the FIR against the petitioners just in order to harass them. The respondent initiated the enquiry way back in 2005-2006 and since then number of investigating officers have been changed. The site was being excavated in order to inspect the welding joints at the cost of the petitioners, thus, they are being harassed. That again after four years the same enquiry officer registered the FIR against the petitioners and the investigation was handed over to one Zaffar Amin who visited the spot number of time for inspecting the work executed by the petitioners in the year 2004-04 and tallied it with the M. Book/Bill and found to be correct. It is further submitted that the Engineering Team of Vigilance Organization Jammu ultimately in order to malign the position of the petitioners reported that there is loss to the State exchequers to the tune of Rs.57,000/-.

(3.) It is stated that the impugned FIR is otherwise liable to be quashed on the ground that even State Government has not granted any sanction for the prosecution of the petitioners and that the allegations made in the FIR are inherently improbable and evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose commission of any offence and made out a case against the petitioners. It is only with the change of Investigating Officer, a new story is being cooked on every occasion.