Nainital, Jun 4 The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday quashed two of the four FIRs filed against former MLA Suresh Rathore over the alleged circulation of objectionable audio and video clips on social media related to the Ankita Bhandari murder case.
A single bench of Justice Rakesh Thapliyal, however, allowed the police investigation to continue in the remaining two FIRs.
Rathore had challenged four separate FIRs filed in Dehradun and Haridwar districts, claiming the allegations were baseless and politically motivated.
The complainants, Dushyant Gautam and Aarti Gaur, countered that the circulated material was deliberately aimed at tarnishing their reputation.
Gautam, BJP national general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge, was allegedly identified by Rathore as the "VIP" in the clips made public in connection with the case. Gaur has also been linked with the case following assertions made by Urmila Sanawar. Sanawar claims to be the second wife of Rathore.
In its order, the court observed that the FIRs registered at Bahadrabad and Jhabreda police stations in Haridwar contained allegations similar to those in the FIR lodged at Dalanwala police station in Dehradun.
The court noted that the complainants in the Haridwar cases were not the actual victims, and since the alleged victim had already lodged a separate FIR, these cases amounted to successive FIRs. Invoking the principle of double jeopardy, the court quashed the two Haridwar FIRs.
However, the bench refused to quash the FIRs lodged by Aarti Gaur and Dushyant Gautam in Dehradun.
The court held that these two complaints, prima facie, disclosed cognisable offences that required a detailed probe. It added that linking an individual to a heinous crime on social media to damage their reputation is a matter of grave nature.
The court remarked that if a person possesses evidence regarding a crime, it should be submitted to the competent authorities instead of being circulated on social media to malign someone. Social media should be utilised to raise public issues rather than to damage personal reputations, the bench observed.
The high court stated that whether the clips were circulated with a specific motive, political objective, or as part of an organised conspiracy remains a subject of investigation. Since these aspects require a thorough examination, the investigating agencies should be allowed to proceed, the court said.
The court also granted liberty to Gaur and Gautam to approach the Director General of Police and the respective Senior Superintendent of Police if they perceive any threat to their safety, directing the police to assess the threat and provide security if required.
Ankita Bhandari (19), who worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort located in Yamkeshwar of Pauri district, was allegedly murdered on September 18, 2022, by resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta. A court recently sentenced the resort owner and his two employees to rigorous life imprisonment.
