Karnataka HC Quashes Case Against ED Officers Accused Of Coercing Witness To Make Statements Against CM Siddaramaiah In Valmiki Corp Case

The Karnataka High Court on Friday (November 8) quashed the prosecution initiated against two Enforcement Directorate officers who are investigating Valmiki Corporation case and were alleged of coercing a witness to make statements against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

A single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed a petition filed by Deputy Director and Assistant Director of ED, Manoj Mittal and Murali Kannan, after the complainant in the case Kallesh B filed a memo in the court, stating that he did not want to pursue the complaint further.

The court said, “Memo filed by the complainant indicates he does not want to pursue the complaint. In light of the memo filed by respondent 2, the crime requires to be obliterated. Matter disposed of and quashed.”

The two officers were charged under sections 3(5) (common intention), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 352 (intentional insult) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Following the registration of FIR the duo had approached the high court seeking quashing of the case. On July 23 the High court in its interim order had stayed the investigation against petitioners. During the hearing then the bench had orally observed “When officers perform duty if you go on registering FIR against them....nobody will perform their duty.”

The court had in its July order said, “If the interrogation had happened, without the registration of the ECIR, the aforesaid submissions of the learned Advocate General which have been noted hereinabove or not would have merited acceptance. But the fact is, ECIR is registered and in furtherance of registration of the ECIR, the officers of the Enforcement Directorate take steps to investigate or question the complainant. It is a matter of record that the investigation or the questioning of the complainant on 16.07.2024 results in a search being conducted in the office of the Corporation on 18/19.07.2024. As observed hereinabove, a crime is registered, sequentially an ECIR is registered and the officers of the Enforcement Directorate in discharge of their official duties, summon the complainant, question him and investigate into the matter. The statement being recorded leads the officers to a search in the office of the Corporation”.

It had further said, “If these acts of these petitioners – the officers cannot but be termed as their acts in discharge of their official duties. On the discharge of official duties if the subject crime is permitted to be investigated into for offence punishable under Section 351(2) and 352 of the BNS, 2023 it would become an abuse of the process of the law, as for discharging their official duties, those official duties of the officers of the Enforcement Directorate would be investigated into by the jurisdictional police. In the light of the aforesaid, owing to peculiar circumstances, I deem it appropriate to stay all further investigation in Crime No.166/2024, against these petitioners, till the next date of hearing".

Case Title: Manoj Mittal & ANR AND State of Karnataka

Appearance: ASG S V Raju a/w CGC Madhukar Deshpande for Petitioners.

Case No: WP 19489/2024

Citation No: 2024 LiveLaw (Kar) 462