['Obscene' Posts Against Lord Krishna] "Offence Against Society, Not A Fit Case To Quash FIR Against Accused": P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently refused to quash an FIR filed against a man who has been booked for allegedly making remarks against Lord Shri Krishna on the holy festival of Shri Krishna Janamashtami and for putting out obscene pictures publicly.

The Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri observed that the alleged offence was an offence against the society at large and it was not a case of a private offence as in the instant case, society at large was affected by the alleged offence.

The case in brief

Essentially, as per the FIR, the allegations were that the petitioner-Nanu Kumar deliberately hurt the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus on social media publicly with the motive of provoking riots and made some dirty remarks on the most respected Lord Shri Krishna on the holy festival of Hindus i.e. Shri Krishna Janamashtami.

It was also alleged that he had put out obscene pictures publicly which was seen by millions of people all over India. Therefore, he was booked under Section 295A of IPC.

Thereafter, he moved the Court with his application u/s 482 CrPC seeking quashing of the case on the ground that the matter had been compromised between the complainant-respondent No.2 and the petitioner at the Panchayat level.

On the other hand, Naveen Singh Panwar, learned DAG, Haryana submitted that the charges are so serious in nature and the gravity of the offence is of high magnitude and, therefore, it is not a fit case for quashing of FIR based upon compromise especially when charges have been framed even by the trial Court.

Court's order

The Court, at the outset, perused the allegations against the petitioner and noted that the offence is an offence against the society at large and it is not a case of a private offence where only one person is affected whereas society at large is being affected by the aforesaid allegations.

The Court further observed that the power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. should be exercised very sparingly and with caution and should be used only to secure the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of process of Court.

The Court also noted that while exercising the powers, the High Court has to see as to whether the possibility of conviction is very less or remote and continuation of the criminal case would put the accused to great oppression and prejudice and extreme injustice would be caused to him by not quashing the criminal case.

Against this backdrop, the Court noted that in the instant case, the offence was so serious in nature and it involved larger public interest. The Court also stressed that there was nothing to show that quashing of the FIR at the instant stage would prevent the abuse of the process of law.

Thus, finding no merit in the instant petition, the same was dismissed.

Case title - Nanu Kumar v. State Of Haryana and Others

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (PH) 26

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