‘Shocking Allegations’: Allahabad HC Denies Relief To Man Accused Of Posting Lord Hanuman's Disrespectable Picture On Social Media

The Allahabad High Court recently refused to quash a criminal case against one Rajesh Kumar accused of posting a very objectionable and disrespectable picture of Lord Hanuman on social media with a very objectionable tagline. Terming the allegations in the FIR to be ‘shocking’, the bench of Justice Prashant Kumar noted that the HC cannot appreciate evidence nor can it draw its own inferences from the contents of the FIR and material relied upon while dealing with an application filed under a Section 482 challenging the charge sheet [Referred to Kaptan Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh LL 2021 SC 379]. “It is well settled that at the stage of taking cognizance, the Court should not get in the merits of the case, at such stage, the Court's power is limited to the extent on finding out whether from the material placed before it, the offences alleged thereunder against the accused is made out or not with a view to proceed further with the case… if there is a disputed question of fact the same has to be looked into by the Court below and the High Court should not look into while dealing with the application under Section 482 CrPC,” the Court said. In this regard, the Court took into account the ruling of the Apex Court in the case of Amanullah & Anr vs State of Bihar & Ors reported in (2016) 6 SCC 699, wherein it was held that once a magistrate, after perusing the evidence on record, comes to the conclusion that prima facie case is made out and take cognizance then the High Court should not use the inherent power granted under Section 482 CrPC unless the order is ex-facie illegal. Against this backdrop, the Court concluded that the instant matter does not fall under the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. The Court further noted that the limit of exercising jurisdiction conferred on the High Court under Section 482 CrPC is well defined, and by no stretch of the imagination, it could be said that the instant application fulfils the requirement as contemplated. Hence, the Court refused to interfere and entertain the instant application. It may be noted that the Accused in the instant case had moved the HC challenging the charge sheet dated and summoning order as well as the entire proceeding of the Criminal Case under Sections 505(2)/295 (A) I.P.C. and 67 IT Act. After the investigation, a chargesheet was filed in the case, and the Court took cognizance after perusing the material available on record and concluded that a prima facie case was made against the accused applicant. Appearances Counsel for Applicant: Juned Alam, Mohd Hamid Counsel for Opposite Party: AGA AK Sand Case title - Rajesh Kumar vs. State of U.P. and Another [APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 21056 of 2023] Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 196 Click Here To Read/Download Order

‘Shocking Allegations’: Allahabad HC Denies Relief To Man Accused Of Posting Lord Hanuman's Disrespectable Picture On Social Media

Sparsh Upadhyay

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