new Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed an FIR lodged against a man, saying it was “shocked and appalled” as to how a police officer allegedly shared his photograph with a man under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). Case registered for taking. Police station from outside”.
“Law cannot be misused/misused and should not be used as a tool to harass or harass individuals. It is the duty of the police to protect people and act in accordance with the law,” Justice A division bench of Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said apart from imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 on the state to be paid to the petitioner, which may be recovered from the salaries of the police officers enforcing the OSA in this case.
The case pertains to a case registered last July at Akluj police station in Solapur – under section 3 (espionage) of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 – which was later chargesheeted under the same section on August 12, 2021 for clicking a picture it was done. police station outside
According to the High Court order dated 8 December, a copy of which is with ThePrint, the petitioner was summoned to the Akluj police station in connection with another case registered against him. The petitioner had told the court that a case was registered against him for using his mobile phone to take pictures of the police station while the head constable – who is also the first respondent in the case – was writing complaints.
“Prima facie, it appears to have been implemented maliciously by the police concerned. By any stretch of imagination, Section 3 could not be made applicable in the facts of the present case. It is relevant to note that the definition of ‘restricted place’ as defined in section 2(8) of the Act is a broad definition, which does not specifically include ‘police station’ as a place or establishment. The court said in its order.
It also states that invoking Section 3 of the Act “may have dire consequences on the person against whom it is invoked” as it may affect one’s reputation, job and career. “It cannot be implemented lightly, risking one’s life and career. The law cannot be misused or abused and should not be used as a tool to harass or harass a person.
The bench also expressed concern over how FIRs were being registered by the police under Section 3 of the OSA “without application of mind” – which it termed as a “serious concern”. To that effect, the court ordered that a copy of its order be sent to the Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai and the State Home Department to ensure that the Official Secrets Act is not misused. Appropriate steps have been taken.
“It is also open to the concerned authorities to consider whether or not to inform a senior higher ranking level officer when an FIR is registered under the Official Secrets Act in matters relating to the police station,” the order said. The order stated. ,
Pointing out that in order to attract the provisions of OSA, the incident in question must have taken place in a “restricted place”, the HC said that the police station does not qualify as one.
The court ruled, “Registration of offense against the petitioner is, in fact, clearly an abuse of the process of law and if not quashed, it would lead to serious miscarriage of justice, which cannot be accepted.” Is.”
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)
Read also: Take a tour of the Bombay High Court. It’s not just the place to go for a fight anymore