Court says proceedings were based on presumption and apprehension; negative Covid test and lack of concrete evidence made continuation an abuse of process.
The Allahabad High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against two applicants who were accused of attending a religious gathering at Hazrat Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi during the Covid-19 period and allegedly returning home while infected, thereby posing a risk of spreading the virus to others.
Justice Dr. Gautam Chowdhary allowed the application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, and set aside the charge sheet, cognizance order, and summoning order in the case pending before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 2, Jaunpur.
According to the FIR, the police had received information that the two applicants had attended the Markaz gathering and were secretly staying at their homes after returning. The prosecution alleged that they might have been infected with coronavirus and could have infected others. Based on this apprehension, they were medically examined and sent to a quarantine centre.
However, the applicants argued that the case was false and frivolous. Their counsel submitted that although the investigation led to filing of a charge sheet, the applicants’ Covid test result was negative, which completely undermined the foundation of the prosecution case. It was further argued that the proceedings had been initiated merely on suspicion, presumption, and assumption, without any real material to show commission of an offence.
The State could not dispute these facts before the court.
After examining the record, the High Court held that the FIR had been lodged only on the basis of apprehension that the applicants may have been infected and may have spread the virus to others. Since the medical test came back negative, the court found that the applicants had been falsely implicated and that continuation of the case would amount to abuse of the process of law.
The court also referred to the Supreme Court’s landmark rulings in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, Ahmad Ali Quraishi v. State of Uttar Pradesh, and Prashant Bharti v. State (NCT of Delhi), reiterating the principles governing quashing of criminal proceedings. It noted that the present case fell within the categories where proceedings can be quashed, particularly where allegations are inherently improbable, unsupported by evidence, or motivated by malafide intent.
Holding that the case was squarely covered by those precedents, the High Court allowed the application and quashed the entire criminal proceeding against the applicants.
Bottom Line :
Criminal proceedings arising out of allegation that applicants attended religious gathering during Covid-19 period and might have been infected, thereby possibly infecting others, are liable to be quashed where medical test of applicants was found negative and prosecution was launched merely on presumption, apprehension and assumption, amounting to abuse of process of court.
Statutory provision(s): Section 528 BNSS, Sections 188, 269, 307 IPC, Section 51(b) Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 3 Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
Faizan v. State of U.P., (Allahabad) : Law Finder Doc id # 2983401
