Gujarat High Court Rejects Journalist Mahesh Langa's Plea To Quash FIR Alleging Theft Of 'Confidential' Govt Documents

The Gujarat High Court on Monday (February 17) dismissed journalist Mahesh Langa's plea to quash an FIR registered by Gandhinagar Police against him for alleged corruption, criminal conspiracy and theft where he is accused of obtaining "highly confidential government documents".

Justice Divyesh A Joshi said while pronouncing the order said, "Application is dismissed". 

The court in its order noted, "the fact remains that highly sensitive and confidential documents of the Gujarat Maritime Board, which are not even provided to any person under the Right to Information Act, have been recovered and seized from the premises of the petitioner and when the official of the GMB jumped to the conclusion to lodge FIR against the petitioner and another accused person and when the investigation of the FIR is at a nascent stage and prima facie case is made out against the petitioner, I am not inclined to exercise inherent powers in favour of the petitioner at this stage". 

On the exercise of its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC for quashing, the court said that it must be used sparingly and only when the court comes to a conclusion that there would be abuse of the process of the court, if such power is not exercised.

However in the present case, the court observed that "from the material collected by the investigating officer during the course of investigation, prima facie involvement of the petitioner in commission of crime is made out".

It further noted that the investigation is at a "nascent stage" and hence it would not be proper for the Court to exercise its inherent powers in favour of Langa at this stage. It thereafter dismissed the plea.

The FIR has been registered under BNS Sections 316(5) (Criminal Breach of Trust by public servants, bankers, merchants and other professionals), 303(2) (Theft), 306 (Theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master), 61(2) (Criminal conspiracy) and Sections 7(a)(Undue advantage to influence a public servant), 8 (Bribing a public servant), 12 (Punishment for abatement of offences), 13(1)(a) (Criminal misconduct by a public servant), 13(2) (Punishment for a public servant who commits criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

During the hearing on Thursday senior advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared for Langa had said, "In respect of some other FIR they (State) raided my house and they found some documents. On the basis of those documents their allegation is that these must have been stolen from Gujarat Maritime Board...and because they must have been stolen at the instance of somebody else (that person we don't know they don't name them). Then they say that those documents must have been entrusted with that person so there is breach of trust. I have no idea about this. Then they say on the basis of this there must have been some conspiracy. So there must be a conspiracy for a man they don't name. There must be a conspiracy for breach of trust. But nobody has entrusted the documents to me. Im not a public servant".

Arguing that the entire FIR is based a “conjecture” Sibal had said, "First they must arrest the person who stole, then they must arrest the person who committed breach of trust, then they must find out prima facie whether there was a conspiracy. My Lords, this is absurd, I mean, I have never seen anything like this…There is absolutely no offence against me at all. And they come arrest me before even they investigate”.

Meanwhile the Additional Advocate General (AAG) Mitesh Amin appearing for the State had contended that Langa was apprehended in another case of fraud wherein the police went to his residence and found “confidential and sensitive documents” of Gujarat Maritime Board at the time of search and seized it. Amin said that thereafter, the investigating officer of that FIR, conveyed to GMB about the documents.

Amin had said that GMB undertook an inquiry, on the basis of which the conclusion drawn is reflected in the present FIR as first informant is officer of the board. He said that the investigation is at “nascent stage” and Langa is already in custody in a few other matters and the inquiry conducted by the GMB “prima facie” implicates Langa.

Case Title: Maheshan Prabhudan Langa vs State of Gujarat & Ors

Case Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Guj) 33

Case Number: SCr.A/16612 of 2024

Click Here To Read/Download Order