WPCRL/1337/2026 of PRANAY AHUJA AND ORS Vs STATE OF UTTARAKHAND on 14 July 2026

SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS

WPCRL/1337/2026

Pranay Ahuja And Ors --Petitioner Versus State Of Uttarakhand --Respondent

Hon'ble Alok Mahra, J.

Mr. Ashutosh Posti, learned counsel for the petitioners.

2. Mr. Akshay Latwal, learned A.G.A. along with Mr. Manoj Bhatt, learned Brief Holder for the State.

3. Dr. Kartikey Hari Gupta along with Ms. Irum Zeba, learned counsel for respondent no.3.

4. By means of the present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the First Information Report/Case Crime No. 0046 of 2026, registered under Sections 115(2), 324(4), 351(2), 352 and 79 of the B.N.S., at Police Station Srinagar, District Pauri Garhwal. The petitioner has further sought issuance of a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent authorities not to arrest the petitioner pursuant to the aforesaid

F.I.R.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the impugned F.I.R. has been lodged on false, fabricated and concocted allegations with an ulterior motive to harass the petitioner, who is wholly innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case; that, the dispute between the parties is essentially a family and property dispute; that, various proceedings relating to same subject matter have already been instituted before competent authority as well as before this Court.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners would further submit that, even if the allegations contained in the impugned F.I.R. are accepted at their face value and in their entirety, the offences alleged are punishable with imprisonment not exceeding seven years. It is further submitted that the petitioners undertake to extend full cooperation with the investigation and shall appear before the Investigating Officer as and when called upon to do so.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners, placing reliance upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273 and submits that that the offences alleged in the impugned F.I.R. are punishable with imprisonment which does not exceed seven years. Learned counsel for the petitioners, therefore, prays that the present criminal writ petition be disposed of in terms of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, with a direction to the respondent authorities to comply with the statutory safeguards governing arrest and investigation.

7. Learned State Counsel would oppose the writ petition. However, he does not dispute the fact that the offences alleged in the impugned F.I.R. are punishable with imprisonment which does not exceed seven years.

8. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the material available on record, this Court is not inclined to examine the correctness or otherwise of the allegations made in the impugned F.I.R. in exercise of its extraordinary writ jurisdiction at this stage, particularly when the investigation is still in progress. It is, however, not disputed that the offences alleged against the petitioner are punishable with imprisonment which does not exceed seven years.

9. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the present writ petition is disposed of with a direction that the Investigating Officer shall proceed with the investigation strictly in accordance with law as well as the guidelines and directions issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273, before effecting the arrest of the petitioner

10. It is clarified that in the event the Investigating Officer forms an opinion that arrest of the petitioners are necessary, the statutory requirements prescribed under law shall be complied with in letter and spirit.

11. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of accordingly.

(Alok Mahra, J.)

14.07.2026 Mamta

MA MTA RANI Digitally signed by MAMTA RANI DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=6a812005bebfcf46f 244f3e584af1449e430ef900 bf09a6d67ebbd642671329b, postalCode=263001, st=Uttarakhand, serialNumber=5de1751a4f1 d9cabfd54852c9e68911ca8b 66dd26690a191648ab5d8dd 004ef0, cn=MAMTA RANI Date: 2026.07.15 10:57:21 +05'30'