AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court quashed an FIR filed against policemen in Kutch for partying without wearing masks during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this case, six police personnel gathered for the birthday party of one Virendra Purohit, who is also a policeman, at a resort on May 15, 2021.
A video of their party went viral after a few days, and the Anjar police registered an FIR on May 28, 2021, against the six for violating the Covid restrictions.
They were charged under IPC sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 188 (violation of govt notification), for violating the Gujarat Epidemic Disease Covid-2019 regulations and the Disaster Management Act.
The FIR stated that the accused, being responsible police officials, committed the alleged offence.
A month after the FIR was registered, the policemen approached the high court and contended that it was no offence because they gathered in a closed room, and the Covid-19 guidelines also permitted restricted gatherings during the pandemic.
The state govt opposed the petition and relied on the video of their party to argue that Covid rules were violated by the police officials.
They also contended that Section 195 of CrPC places a bar on the registration of an FIR. The proper procedure to invoke the sections and laws requires the filing of a complaint before a magistrate by a competent authority.
After hearing the case, the HC said that the FIR faces a bar of Section 195 of CrPC because Section 188 of IPC was invoked.
The HC further stated, “After hearing the learned advocates for the respective parties and perusing the contents of the FIR, this court is of the considered opinion that the complainant has tried to misuse the machinery of criminal law… It is found out from bare perusal of the allegations and accusations levelled against the applicant herein are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety, in that event, they do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused as the basic, essential and requisite ingredients for the alleged offences are missing.”