Fraud By Court-Staff Has Far-Reaching Detrimental Effect On Justice System; It Erodes Public Trust In Judiciary: Allahabad HC

A bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinod Diwakar said that when court staff abuse their authority for personal gain, it compromises the integrity of judicial decisions and raises questions about the legitimacy of legal proceedings.

The division bench made these observations while refusing to quash an FIR and stay arrest under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC against a court staffer for allegedly committing forgery of court documents.

The petitioner (Suresh Kumar Mishra) has been accused of fraud on the allegations that while working as a Senior Assistant in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonebhadra (between October 2020 and March 2023), he, in connivance with the ARTO staff and officers, released 304 vehicles against forged receipts and caused massive loss to the government treasury by playing fraud upon the court proceedings.

The FIR in the case was registered on the receipt of the written complaint by the petitioner himself. During the case investigation, the roles of the eight persons surfaced, including the petitioner, and therefore, all of them were arrayed as accused.

Out of eight, two persons have been arrested by the police; two have got interim bail; one has died, and three accused persons' arrest is yet to be effected.

It was alleged that the three accused, including the petitioner, were absconding and not cooperating with the investigation. Therefore, police are conducting raids at their residence and other places where possible hide-outs are being made.

Seeking relief in the case, the counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner himself is a complainant in the present case and, therefore, cannot be implicated as an accused.

It was also argued that he had been exonerated in the Departmental Inquiry conducted by Special Judge, POCSO Act, Sonbhadra.

Perusing the entire material placed before the Court, the bench was not persuaded to hold that the allegations made in the impugned F.I.R. and the material collected during the investigation lack bonafide, making the entire proceedings vitiated under law.

The Court noted that the petitioner is on the run, and the police are conducting raids at the possible hide-outs of the petitioner. There is a serious apprehension to the police that the petitioner may tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses.

Importantly, the Court also emphasized that such a large-scale organized fraud can't be executed without the active connivance of the office of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shonbhadra.

“As the investigation is at the pre-mature stage and the role of the petitioner has surfaced as a kingpin in executing the crime, therefore, it's not possible to anticipate the result of the investigation and render a finding on the question of malate ideas on the material at present available… At this stage, we cannot embark upon a roving inquiry as to the reliability, genuineness, or otherwise correctness of the allegations made in the F.I.R., and the extraordinary and inherent powers do not confer an arbitrary jurisdiction on this Court to act to its whim or caprice” the Court added.

Further, finding that the allegations against the petitioner clearly constitute a cognizable offence justifying the registration of F.I.R. and the investigation thereon, the Court refused to allow the criminal writ petition and stay his arrest.

Thus, the petition was dismissed with the direction of completing the investigation as soon as possible.

The Court specifically directed the IG Police, Varanasi Zone, to ensure that the Investigating Officer avails all available scientific and forensic assistance in collecting evidence, as permissible under law.

Case title - Suresh Kumar Mishra vs. State Of Up And 2 Others 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 306

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 306

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