Jharkhand High Court Orders FIR Against Police Personnel For Assault On Protesting Relatives Of Murdered Bajrang Dal Leader

Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi held that, “This is not a single case. There are many cases of such nature, which have been examined by this Court in several writ petitions and appropriate directions have also been issued. This is unfortunate that a citizen has been compelled to move before this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for registration of the FIR and such a direction is already there in view of the judgment passed in Lalita Kumari (supra).”

“There is no doubt that the petitioner is having alternative remedy, but looking to the facts and circumstances of the present case as disclosed in the petition, the Court finds that already much time has lapsed and to further delay the matter, unnecessarily the evidence may be further diluted,” the Justice Dwivedi added

The petitioner's counsel revealed that a case was filed by Uma Shankar Giri, the elder brother of Kamal Dev Giri, in November 2022. This case pertained to various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, and Explosive Substance Act related to the murder of Kamal Dev Giri. The case was initially registered against unknown individuals.

The counsel also noted that the petitioner's family had requested Narco Analysis Tests on the arrested suspects, submitting representations to the local authorities.

On December 29, 2022, the petitioner and her family members staged a peaceful protest outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Chaibasa. During the demonstration, Niranjan Tiwari, the In-charge of Sadar Police Station, allegedly verbally abused and physically assaulted the petitioner and her brother, Uma Shankar Giri. The petitioner reported this incident in writing to the Officer In-charge of the Sadar Police Station, but no FIR was registered against the accused police official.

In response, the counsel representing the respondent-State argued that an FIR had already been registered in connection with the murder case of Kamal Dev Giri, which was under investigation. He contended that the injuries sustained during the protest were a result of the demonstration and did not warrant a separate FIR.

After a careful examination of the evidence and documents presented in the case, the court unequivocally affirmed that the petitioner had sustained eight distinct injuries on her body.

The Court specifically highlighted that these allegations of a brutal assault were directed solely at a police official within the aforementioned district. Furthermore, the court emphasized that a medical report had been generated following the police's request for the petitioner's examination.

Deliberating on the central issue at hand—whether, in the presence of such injuries, the actions of the police and district administration could be justified in not initiating a FIR against the accused individual—the court found the answer to be readily available in a precedent set forth by the Supreme Court in the case of Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh and others, as reported in (2014) 2 SCC 1.

The Jharkhand High Court directed the Director General of Police, State of Jharkhand, Ranchi, and the Superintendent of Police, West Singhbhum at Chaibasa, to register an FIR immediately. Furthermore, the Director General of Police was instructed to issue necessary Circulars/Standard Operating Procedures to all Station House Officers, emphasizing compliance with the Lalita Kumari case directives, and warned of disciplinary proceedings for non-compliance.

The court granted a two-week period for compliance and clarified that it had not expressed an opinion on the merits of the complaint, emphasizing the need for an independent investigation.

Counsel For the Petitioner : Mr. Suraj Singh, Advocate Mr. Parambir Singh Bajaj, Advocate Mr. Vikas Kumar, Advocate

Counsel For the State : Mr. P.C. Sinha, A.C. to G.A.-III

LL Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Jha) 47

Case Title: Pooja Giri vs. The State of Jharkhand and Others

Case No.: W.P. (Cr.) No. 12 of 2023

Click Here to Rea/Download Judgement