Unbecoming Of A Judge, Virtually Auctioned His Chair-Allahabad HC Quashes FIR Lodged By CJM Against

In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court quashed an FIR lodged against three officials of the Electricity Department. The case, CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. 13460 of 2023, involved petitioners Manoj Kumar Gupta, Deependra Singh, and Rakesh Pratap Singh, who faced serious allegations under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

 

The conflict stemmed from an unpaid electricity bill of ?1,66,916 for a property purchased by Dr. Gupta in 2009. Despite various legal battles and complaints against the previous owner and the Electricity Department officials, the issue remained unresolved. Frustrated, Dr. Gupta filed an FIR accusing the petitioners of fraud, cheating, and extortion.

 

The bench, including Justice Rahul Chaturvedi and Justice Mohd. Azhar Husain Idrisi, delivered a stern judgment criticizing Dr. Gupta. They highlighted how he misused his judicial position to settle personal scores, emphasizing the high ethical standards expected from judges. "A Judge must be a person of impeccable integrity and unimpeachable independence. He must be honest to the core with high moral values," the court noted.

 

The court found that Dr. Gupta misused his role as Chief Judicial Magistrate to unfairly pressure the police and file a false FIR against the petitioners. They called this "an exceptional example of misuse of one's office and position to extend the threats of criminal prosecution against the petitioners."

 

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the matter. The SIT concluded that the FIR's allegations were false and driven by ulterior motives. The report also revealed that Dr. Gupta had not paid the outstanding electricity dues and had leveraged his judicial position to harass the petitioners.

 

This ruling by the Allahabad High Court serves as a reminder of the importance of judicial ethics and the severe consequences of misusing judicial power.