Prayagraj, February 10: The Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anuj Chaudhary received a major relief from the Allahabad High Court in the Sambhal violence case. The High Court on Tuesday stayed the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s (CJM) order to register an FIR against Anuj Chaudhary and several other police personnel.
Justice Samit Gopal passed this order while hearing a petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government and Anuj Chaudhary. The petition challenged the Sambhal CJM Court’s order.
This order relates to the Sambhal violence of November 2024. The FIR was ordered by then-CJM Vibhanshu Sudhir on a petition from a man named Yamin. Yamin had alleged that police officer had shot his son with the intent to kill him.
Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, representing the state government and the police officer in the High Court, argued that the magistrate had exceeded the limits of the Indian Civil Services Code (BNSS) and ignored the mandatory safeguards enshrined in the law. The CJM passed an order to register an FIR under Section 175 of the BNS, but failed to follow the strict and mandatory procedure prescribed in Section 175(4), which protects public servants acting in the discharge of their official duties from frivolous and malicious criminal proceedings.
He clarified that before ordering an investigation against a public servant under Section 175(4) of the BNSS, the magistrate must follow a two-step process: (a) obtaining a report from a superior officer; (b) considering the public servant’s explanation and the circumstances surrounding the incident. In this case, clause (a) of sub-section (4) was followed, but clause (b) was completely ignored. The explanations provided by the police officers were not considered. Clause (b) is mandatory, not optional.
He also stated that the CJM had requested a report from senior officers and presented it to the court, but the order made no mention of that report. The state also argued that the complainant’s application to the CJM did not even state whether she had previously filed a complaint with the relevant police station, a requirement required by law.
The CJM not only exceeded his jurisdiction in passing the order but also completely ignored the police report, which clearly stated that a case had already been registered regarding the incident and was under investigation.