Gauhati High Court declines plea for interim relief to former Dhula PS OC

Disproportionate assets case

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has declined the plea to grant interim relief to former officer in-charge of Dhula Police Station, Sub Inspector Utpal Bora, in a disproportionate assets case.

Bora is also an accused in the sensational rape and murder of a minor domestic maid at Dhula in the Darrang district last year. Trouble mounted for him when the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) recently registered a disproportionate assets case against him. His wife has also been named as an accused in this case. Bora had filed a plea in the Gauhati High Court for quashing the FIR in connection with CID PS Case No. 1/2023, under sections 13[2]/13[1][b] of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, read with sections 120B/109 of the IPC.

The CID found during investigation that Utpal Bora had purchased several assets in the last few years and during the period of 01.04.2020- 31.10.2022, and the value of the assets was found to be beyond his known source of income, to the tune of Rs 126 lakh, which is 948% more than his known source of income. It was also found that there was lakhs of transaction which were deposited in his bank account.

The counsel for Utpal Bora said that the registration of CID PS Case No. 01/2023 was in contravention in Office Memorandum No. PLA[V]139/2009/5, dated 13.11.2009, and no preliminary inquiry was conducted before registration of the FIR and no notice was given to him to submit his response within 30 days and no approval was obtained from the government. The counsel pleaded the court to allow the petition for granting interim relief.

The Additional Public Prosecutor vehemently opposed the petition, and also in granting interim protection to Bora and his wife, on the ground that the Office Memorandum relates to cases under the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption only and the same will not be applicable to the CID cases and that the offences against Bora and his wife are serious in nature.

The court observed that while registering the case against Bora, no notice was given to him and no approval was obtained to register a complaint or register a criminal case against him. But the court also stated that the Office Memorandum No. PLA[V].139/2009/5, dated 13.11.2009, seems to be applicable only in the case of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption and there is no indication in the Office Memorandum regarding applicability of the same in cases of CID and other Police Stations also.

The court therefore, stated that "no exceptional case is made out for granting interim relief as prayed for, in the form of 'no coercive steps' to be adopted. Accordingly, the prayer of interim relief is declined."

The court order stated, "It well settled by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that in the case of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) & Anr. Vs. Thommundru Hannah Vijoylakshmi, Crl. Appeal No. 1045 of 2021, that preliminary enquiry in corruption cases is not mandatory. It is also held by Hon'ble Supreme Court in State Of West Bengal & Ors vs. Swapan Kumar Guha & Ors., reported in (1982) 1 SCC 561, that "right of inquiry is conditioned by the existence of reason to suspect the commission of a cognizable offence and they cannot, reasonably, have reason so to suspect unless the FIR, prima facie, discloses the commission of such offence. If that condition is satisfied, the investigation must go on. The Court has then no power to stop the investigation, for to do so would be to trench upon the lawful power to investigate into cognizable offences."

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