SURENDRA SINGH RATHORE Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is an accused in FIR No. 131/2022 dtd. 14/4/2022 registered with Pradhan Arakshi Kendra, Anti Corruption Bureau, Jaipur District Bikaner for offences under Ss. 7, 7A, 8 and 12 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018 (in short "P.C. Act") as well as under Sec. 120-B of IPC. The petitioner has sought for quashment of aforesaid FIR on the ground that FIR No. 123/2022 registered for offences under Ss. 7 and 7A of the P.C. Act as well as under Sec. 120-B of IPC on 8/4/2022 relates to identical allegations of same transactions hence, the impugned FIR is second FIR for the same cause which is not permissible. The second ground of challenge is that admittedly the petitioner is a public servant and the offences alleged to have been committed are relatable to suspected recommendations made or decision taken by the petitioner in discharge of his official functions and duties and therefore under Sec. 17A of P.C. Act previous approval of the competent authority is necessary to conduct any inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by the petitioner. Since the approval of the authority competent to remove the petitioner from his office has not been taken in this case, the FIR cannot be investigated as such, the FIR is not sustainable qua the petitioner.

(2.) According to contents of the first FIR (123/2022) one Vipin Parihar, Chief Marketing Officer of Fem Bio Fuel Private Limited, accompanied with his business partner Deven Shah as well as alongwith Satya Narayan Saini S.D. of Kusum Petro Chemicals came to the office of Anti Corruption Bureau and submitted a written complaint on 6/4/2022. The complaint states that the petitioner who is Chief Executive Officer cum Project Director in Bio Fuel Authority under the Department of Rural Development, Government of Rajasthan, demanded bribe @ of Rs.2.00 per litre for sale of bio diesel. On the date of complaint, the aforesaid demand was fixed at Rs.15.00 Lakh per month. Further complaint is that the petitioner demanded Rs.5.00 Lakh for renewal of the licence and extension of business at Baroda. The complainant stated that on 4/4/2022 he had met the petitioner in his office for renewal of his licence as well as permission for extension of his business and the petitioner put the demand for such an approval rather the petitioner put pressure that if the monthly amount fixed is not paid to the petitioner, the licence would be cancelled. The complainant stated that since he does not want to bribe the public servant, hence the complaint. Accordingly the authorities of Anti Corruption Bureau after necessary approval and preparation put a trap on 7/4/2022. The complainant reached the office of petitioner. The petitioner asked him to pay the money to one Devesh Sharma who was waiting outside the office. Devesh Sharma asked to put the money in his bag and closed the bag. As per the direction of the petitioner Devesh Sharma was to carry the bag directly to the house of the petitioner. Thereafter, other formalities of arrest and seizure were completed. It also surfaced that Devesh Sharma was in fact a taught of the petitioner and not a contractual employee in the Authority. Mobile phone of the petitioner and Devesh were also seized on the spot. It was specifically stated in the FIR that on forensic examination of the mobile phone of the petitioner and Devesh Sharma further details of bribery may surface.

(3.) The impugned FIR was registered on 14/4/2022 for incident which allegedly took place between 30/9/2021 to 12/4/2022. The information of impugned FIR was allegedly received on 30/9/2021 wherein Mr. Shyam Prakash a constable in the Anti Corruption Bureau informed to the DSP Mr. Paras Mal of the Bureau that in the State of Rajasthan there is huge and deep rooted corruption in the field of bio diesel. It is stated that the petitioner takes bribe for granting licence to run bio fuel pump as well as extorts money from the pump owners and the bio fuel suppliers to allow them run the business illegally. Mr. Nimba Ram, proprietor of Gunjan bio fuel pump and his helper Ashish work as middlemen between the petitioner and the needy persons. Thereafter mobile phones of Nimba Ram and Ashish Kumar were seized by the Bureau and after taking permission from the competent authority, the same were put on surveillance. Their call details and talks were heard and noted down which are mentioned in the FIR from item no. 1 to 14. This court has carefully gone through the call details in item no. 1 to 14, name of the petitioner has not surfaced in all the item nor those call details reveal that call details were for or on behalf of the petitioner or petitioner's involvement.