Quashing an FIR and chargesheet against officer bearers of a Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) of a society in the city, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court Monday flagged the “abuse of law” and noted that the name of a “respected cultural organisation like the RSS” was also maligned.
The complaint against the RWA members of Celebrity Greens in Golf City was filed by a resident, who claimed to be an office bearer of a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh-affiliated organisation, over a parking dispute.
Issuing the order, the bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia observed, “… ‘With great powers come great responsibility’. Opposite Party No. 2 [office bearer of the RSS-linked group] has clearly not gained responsibilities with the great powers that have come his way, as claimed by him.”
Taking strong note of the manner in which the FIR was lodged and chargesheet filed, the bench observed, “… the court has no hesitation in holding that the entire FIR, chargesheet as well as summoning order are nothing but an abuse of process of law at the instance of a disgruntled resident against duly elected members of the RWA.”
The resident, as mentioned in the order, claimed he was a BTech graduate, an entrepreneur, a social worker, and a trustee of the Bhaurao Devras Trust, affiliated with the RSS.
“The investigation is clearly half baked and appears to be under the influence of the office said to be held by Opposite Party No. 2,” the court said.
A parking dispute that escalated
According to the applicants, including the RWA president and caretaker, it was decided in a board meeting in November 2024 that residents who do not follow parking guidelines and violate them repeatedly will have the wheels of their vehicle locked. If the violation continued, the resident would have to pay a penalty of Rs 500.
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In their plea, they claimed that the opposite party (resident affiliated with the RSS) parked his vehicle incorrectly despite objections. They claimed he ignored warnings and was eventually fined Rs 500 penalty after locks were placed on his vehicle.
In turn, the man got a case lodged on charges of extortion, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation.
The RWA office bearers and residents of Celebrity Greens then filed an application in court to quash the chargesheet filed against them in July last year, based on the FIR lodged at Sushant Golf City police station. The prayer also included quashing of the summoning order and entire criminal proceedings.
In his submission, the resident’s counsel argued before the bench that the latter was well within his rights to disclose his social status which include the membership of a trust run by the RSS.
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After hearing submissions from both sides, the court, in its order, stated, “No material exists that the applicants intentionally put the informant or any other resident in fear of any injury, or any effort was made to dishonestly induce any resident or the informant to deliver to any person any property or any security. No amount was extracted or taken from the informant.”
“Thus, from plain reading of the material collected, including the statement and… chargesheet, even if admitted to be gospel truth, the same do not constitute any offence whatsoever under the sections in which the applicants have been charged/summoned,” the order stated.
‘RSS maligned’
The court further observed, “Prima-facie, a highly disciplined and respected cultural organisation like the RSS has been maligned and [its] membership has been misused in the present case by Opposite Party No. 2. However, this court is not well equipped to go any further with regard to the acts of Opposite Party No. 2 in misusing the name of a respected cultural organisation in the manner in which it has been done.”
“It will be open to the organisation of which the informant claims to be a member to see whether the browbeating of their members [or] the common public is sanctioned in favour of the Opposite Party No. 2 owing to his office,” the bench observed.
‘Chargesheet filed hurriedly’
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The court further observed, “… The chargesheet was filed in a hurried manner only after recording statements of the informant [and] applicants; even the material given by the informant was not cross checked. As per records, no material exists… that any threat was issued at any point of time or any extortion was done.”
It also said the parameters laid down for a fair investigation have not been followed in the case.
“It was proposed to be argued that the registration of the RWA has been cancelled. Irrespective of the said cancellation subsequently, the applicants were duly elected members of the RWA and had taken a decision based upon a resolution passed in the general body [meeting]. The same could in no way be termed as ‘extortion’ as has been alleged and averred,” the order stated.
“… A copy of this order shall be placed in the Annual Confidential Report of the investigating officer and… sent to the Director General of Police to take a decision as to whether the role of investigation can be entrusted to Shiv Kant Tiwari, investigating officer of the present case,” the court directed in the order.
