SURENDRA SINGH RATHORE Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have sought for quashment of FIR No. 190/2022 registered with Anti Corruption Bureau Police Station, Jaipur for different offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act alleging therein that disproportionate assets were found in possession of the petitioners.

(2.) A brief background is that at the relevant time, the petitioner was working as Chief Executive Officer (Project), Rajasthan Biofuel as well as ex-officio Joint Secretary in Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department. FIR No. 123/2022 dtd. 8/4/2022 was registered with the same Police Station alleges that the petitioner had demanded bribe for showing favour to the complainant and on the instructions of the petitioner, trap money was paid to one Devesh Sharma waiting outside the chamber of the petitioner and Devesh Sharma was apprehended along with the trap money. On the same day, i.e. 7/4/2022 search and seizures were made from the house of the petitioner, his wife as well as his son and a seizure list was prepared which is at Annexure-4. On the basis of seizure, the Anti Corruption Bureau came to the conclusion that the petitioners were in possession of disproportionate assets to the known sources of their income and accordingly, the impugned FIR No. 190/2022 was registered on 19/5/2022.

(3.) Mr. Deepak Chauhan, learned counsel for the petitioners contends that impugned FIR has been registered in haste without correctly verifying the assets of the petitioner, rather this was a fit case wherein preliminary inquiry before registration of FIR was essential. Learned counsel has placed reliance on different judgments of the Supreme Court referred hereinbelow including the latest judgement in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) & Anr. Vs. Thommandru Hannah Vijayalakshmi @ T.H. Vijayalakshmi & Anr., 2021 SCC OnLine SC 923 wherein previous judgements were also considered.