Act Smacks Of Prejudice And Malafide: DM Questioned By Allahabad HC For Slapping Gangster Act On Lady

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

• The applicant had submitted before the Court that there are two other criminal cases pending against her.
• She was charged under Section 411 IPC and 489B IPC.
• The cases against her were registered in Police Station Kalyanpur, Kanpur Nagar.

RELATED PROVISIONS

• Section 411of IPC defines dishonestly receiving stolen property. It states that whoever dishonestly receives or retains any stolen property, having complete knowledge about the same, would be punished with imprisonment up to three years or fine or both.
• Section 489B of IPC defines the punishment for using genuine, forged or counterfeit currency notes. It states that whoever sells, buys, receives or uses any forged currency notes having the knowledge that they are fake, should be punished with imprisonment for ten years or fine.

OBSERVATION THE COURT

• The Allahabad High Court called it a strange case, while observing that the Gangster Act, 1986 was slapped against the lady, as two cases were pending against her.
• A personal affidavit was sought from the District Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar by Justice Vivek Kumar Singh, which asked him to mention under what circumstances, the applicant, who had just two criminal cases pending against her, was made a criminal under the Gangster Act.
• The Court observed that there had been a number of cases where police functionaries act in an eccentric way and this case is such an example.
• It came to a conclusion that this matter needs consideration.
• August 17 is the next date for hearing of this case.

SIMILAR JUDGEMENTS

• In June 2021, the Allahabad High Court took strong exceptions towards the careless attitudes of the authorities, as it noticed that the gang chart has been wrongly prepared by them, indicating criminal charges.
• Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan, while hearing a bail plea, expressed his disappointment that due care and precautions are not being taken while preparing the gang-chart and the relevant facts and information are not being verified.
• Justice Rahul Chaturvedi observed that, the callous and careless approach of the authorities in preparing the gang chart would adversely affect the prospectus of criminal prosecution.
• Thus, the concerned authorities must prepare extensive gang charts that would help the Court to effectively adjudicate bail pleas.
• Previous year, the Allahabad High Court held that, in its prima facie view, the provisions of the Gangsters Act are being grossly misused in Uttar Pradesh by the police officials.

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