Deoghar Airport Case : Supreme Court Affirms Quashing Of Jharkhand FIR Against BJP MPs, Asks Aircraft Act Authority To Decide On Filing Complaint

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 21) dismissed the appeals filed by the State of Jharkhand against the Jharkhand High Court's decision to quash an FIR against BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey, Manoj Tiwari, and other persons related to the 2022 Deoghar Airport incident.The Court however granted liberty to the State of Jharkhand to forward the materials collected by them during investigation to the authorised officer under the Aircraft Act, 1934 within four weeks and such officer was directed to take a decision in accordance with law as to whether a complaint needs to be filed under the Aircraft Act.A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Manmohan, which reserved the judgment on December 18, 2024, pronounced the verdict today. Justice Manmohan read out the operative portion. AllegationsThe FIR, filed in September 2022, accused the respondents of threatening and coercing Air Traffic Control (ATC) officials to authorize the take-off of a private aircraft, allegedly violating safety regulations. The FIR invoked sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 336 (endangering life or personal safety), Section 447 (criminal trespass), and Section 448 (house trespass), as well as Sections 10 and 11A of the Aircraft Act, 1934.High Court's DecisionThe Jharkhand High Court quashed the FIR on the basis that it lacked the necessary complaint or sanction under the Aircraft Act. The High Court held that the Aircraft Act took precedence, preventing the invocation of IPC provisions.Proceedings before Supreme CourtThe state argued that prior sanction was not required for the investigation under Sections 10 and 11A of the Aircraft Act. The court noted that cognizance of offenses under the Aircraft Act could only be taken upon filing a complaint.Justice Oka questioned the applicability of certain IPC provisions in this case, particularly Section 336 and Section 447, citing the lack of clear evidence that lives were endangered or that criminal trespass occurred.The Supreme Court indicated a potential modification to the High Court's decision, allowing the materials gathered during the investigation to be submitted to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This would enable the DGCA to assess whether a complaint under the Aircraft Act could be filed.Justice Oka clarified that while the Supreme Court would not interfere with the High Court's decision to quash the FIR under the Aircraft Act, it would permit the DGCA to use the collected evidence to determine the possibility of filing a complaint.Case no. – SLP(Crl) No. 7844/2023Case Title – State of Jharkhand v. Nishikant Dubey Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 101Click here to read the judgment

Deoghar Airport Case : Supreme Court Affirms Quashing Of Jharkhand FIR Against BJP MPs, Asks Aircraft Act Authority To Decide On Filing Complaint

Amisha Shrivastava

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