Won't Arrest Param Bir Singh Till October 21 In FIR Under SC/ST Act, Maharashtra Govt Tells Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned to October 20, former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's plea to quash the Thane police's FIR under the SC/ST Act (prevention of atrocities) on a subordinate officer's complaint.

Maharashtra Government's counsel APP JP Yagnik agreed not to arrest Singh till October 21, extending the State's original protection statement from May 24.

The Thane Police is investigating the case against Singh and 32 others for various offences under the SC/ST Act, Civil Rights Protection Act, Maharashtra Police Act and IPC.

On Friday, Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar .  The state then assured the bench that coercive steps would not be taken in the FIR against Param Bir Singh till October 21.

There are five FIRs registered against Param Bir Singh in Maharashtra, protection is granted in only one of these FIRs.

The Complaint

Police Inspector Bhimrao Ghadge alleged that Singh misused his authority as Commissioner of Police (Thane) in 2015 to instigate four false complaints against him within eight days because he refused to drop the names of certain influential people in a case he was investigating.

Ghadge claims that Singh instigated the same accused, against whom he was conducting an investigation, to lodge cases against him. He was incarcerated for 14 months owing to these complaints, he says.

The officer said he approached the State Human Rights Commission, police against Singh, DGP, Home Minister but in vain. Finally, he approached the Bombay High Court, asking the Director-General of Police to decide on his complaint in 2018.

Even as a contempt petition was pending, the State registered an FIR against Param Bir Singh and 32 others on April 28, 2021, for offences under sections 3(1)(p), 3(1)(q), 3(1)(r), 3(2)(ii), 3(2)(v) and 3(2)(vii) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Atrocities Prevention) Act 1989, Sections 7(1-A) of the Civil Rights Protection Act 1955 r/w section 109, 110, 111, 113,166,167, 500, 120B of the IPC r/w Section 22 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

The FIR registered at Akola was later transferred to Bazaar Peth Police Station in Kalyan, Thane.

Param Bir Singh's petition

Param Bir Singh has approached the High Court u/s 482 of the CrPC, seeking to quash the FIR. He alleged that the Maharashtra Government was pursuing the FIR to pressure him to withdraw his corruption allegations against former State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

Regarding Ghatge's FIR, Singh says it does not disclose a cognisable offence and vital facts have been suppressed. He has called the FIR an abuse of the process of law, registered with "sinister motives."

Singh further says that sections of the SC/ST Act have been wrongly applied and there is no explanation for why the FIR was registered belatedly.

He has sought a CBI inquiry into the attempts being made to pressurise him. He also has sought a stay on all the proceedings to the subject FIR.

[Param Bir Singh vs State of Maharashtra]