Supreme Court of India
NAVIKA KUMAR versus UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS on 23 September 2022
182
[2022] 16 S.C.R.
NAVIKA KUMAR
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v.
UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS
(Writ Petition (criminal) No. 286 of 2022)
BSEPTEMBER 23, 2022
[M. R. SHAH AND KRISHNA MURARI, JJ.]
Constitution of India: Art 32 – Writ of Certiorari – Petitionerwas the anchor of Newshour Debate (debate) telecasted on TimesNow – Various FIRs/criminal complaints filed against the petitionerCin relation to the debate telecasted on 26.05.2022 – Petitioner prayedfor quashing the FIRs/complaints described in the instant writpetition or any other FIR/criminal complaint that may be institutedin future arising out of the same incident – Petitioner also prayedthat the various FIR/Complaints be clubbed together – Held: TakingDinto consideration the order passed by this court at earlier occasionin the case of co-accused, all FIRs/complaints against the petitionerare directed to be transferred to the IFSO unit of Delhi Police –IFSO unit of Delhi Police shall be at liberty to collect and gatherany information from the concerned State agencies for the purposeof conducting a thorough investigation – No coercive action shallEbe taken against the petitioner in FIRs/complaints already lodgedor that may be lodged in future pertaining to the debate for a periodof eight weeks from the date of judgment so as to enable the petitionerto approach the concerned Court for appropriate relief – Theinvestigation of any subsequent FIRs/complaints which are registeredFin future in respect of the debate shall stand transferred to IFSOunit of Delhi police – With respect to quashing of FIR/complaint,the petitioner is at liberty to pursue such prayer by approachingthe High Court u/Art.226 or s.482 of Code – Writ petition disposedof – Code of Criminal Procedure – s.482.
GCRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition(Criminal) No. 286 of 2022.
Under Article 32 of The Constitution of India Maninder Singh, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Sr. Advs., Ms. Ruby SinghAhuja, Ms. Meenakshi Grover, Pawan Noray, Varun Khanna, Ms. Kritika H
Sachdeva, Lakshya Khanna, Dhruv Sharma, Raghav Agrawal, JappanPreet Hora, Prabhas Bajaj, Ms. Ashita Chawla, Ajay Sabharwal, PranavSaigal, Raghav Tewari, Navneet R., M/S. Karanjawala & Co., Advs.for the Petitioner.
Tushar Mehta, SG, K. M. Nataraj, ASG, Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, KanuAgarwal, Navanjay Mahapatra, Ms. Rooh-e-Hina Dua, Ms. Neela KedarGokhale, Shailesh Madiyal, Nakul Chengappa K.K., Harshit Khanduja,Kanishak Bunderwal, G S Makker, A.K. Sharma, Ms. Astha Sharma,Ravinder Singh, Ms. Raveesha Gupta, Ms. Mantika Haryani, ShreyasAwasthi, M/s. Plr Chambers and Co., Ms. Taruna Ardhendumauli Prasad,Ms. Shreya Srivastava, Ms. Ananya Sahu, Aman Singh Bhadauria, Advs.for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
M. R. SHAH, J.
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1. By way of this petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitutionof India, the petitioner has prayed for the following substantive reliefs, (a) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature ofcertiorari quashing the Impugned FIRs/Complaints described inparagraph 17 of the present Petition or any other FIR/CriminalComplaint filed or inquiry or investigation instituted or to be institutedin the future in relation to the Petitioner arising out of the sameincident/occurrence, i.e., the Newshour Debate telecasted onTimes Now on 26.05.2022; (b) Alternatively, issue an appropriate writ, order or direction inthe nature of transfer and club all FIRs including the ImpugnedFIRs/Criminal Complaints described in paragraph 17, and any otherFIR/Criminal Complaint filed or inquiry or investigation institutedor to be instituted in the future in relation to the Petitioner arisingout of same incident/ occurrence, i.e., the Newshour Debatetelecasted on Times Now on 26.05.2022 with FIR No. 130 of2022 registered by the Special Cell, Delhi Police i.e. the firstreported FIR in relation to the said incident/occurrence;
(c) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature ofmandamus restraining Respondents and/or any other authority totake any coercive steps pursuant to the Impugned FIRs/CriminalComplaints described in paragraph 17 of the present Petition or A
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Aany other FIR/Criminal Complaint filed or inquiry or investigationinstituted or to be instituted in the future in relation to the Petitionerarising out of same incident/occurrence, i.e., the Newshour Debatetelecasted on Times Now on 26.05.2022; (d) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ of appropriateBnature to the effect that no cognizance of any complaint would betaken by any court nor any FIR registered by the police in relationto or arising out of the same incident/ occurrence i.e., theNewshour Debate Telecasted on Times Now on 26.05.2022.
(e) Allow the Petitioner to amend the present Writ Petition in theCevent that any other FIR is registered on the same cause of actionin future with respect to the various FIRs/criminal complaints filed againstthe petitioner in different police stations in different States in relation tothe incident/occurrence – Newshour Debate telecasted on Times Nowon 26.05.2002.D
2. The particulars of different FIRs/criminal complaints filedagainst the petitioner, of which the reliefs are sought in the present petition,are as under:
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2.1 It is also submitted that apart from the aforesaid FIRs/complaints, two more FIRs have been filed against the petitioner, detailsof which are given below, which are not the part of the present writpetition:
3. It is the case on behalf of the petitioner, who at the relevanttime was the anchor who conducted the Newshour Debate telecastedon Times Now on 26.05.2022, that with respect to the aforesaid FIRs/criminal complaints in case of another co-accused – Nupur Sharma, thisCourt vide order dated 10.08.2022 in Miscellaneous Application No.1238/2022 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 239/2022 has transferred therespective FIRs/complaints to IFSO Unit of Delhi Police for the purposeof investigation. Therefore, it is the case on behalf of the petitioner thatsimilar order may be passed in case of the petitioner also who is the co-accused in the transferred FIRs/complaints as there cannot be twoinvestigating agencies with respect to same FIRs/complaints.
4. Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General of India appearingfor the Union of India and also appearing on behalf of the Governmentof NCT of Delhi, State of Maharashtra, and Union Territory of Jammu& Kashmir and Shri Ravinder Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalfof the State of West Bengal are not in a position to dispute the abovefact that the same FIRs/complaints in which the petitioner is also a co-accused are transferred to IFSO Unit of Delhi Police.
5. We have heard learned counsel for the respective parties andconsidered the order passed by this Court dated 10.08.2022 inMiscellaneous Application No. 1238/2022 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No.239/2022 by which with respect to the aforesaid FIRs/complaints excepttwo FIRs arising out of the same incident/occurrence, namely, NewshourDebate telecasted on times Now on 26.05.2022, the investigation/s is/are transferred to IFSO unit of Delhi Police. The FIRs/complaints whichare transferred to IFSO unit of Delhi Police, in which the petitioner is A
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Aalso a co-accused, there cannot be two investigating agencies with respectto the same FIRs/complaints arising out of the same incident/occurrencewith respect to different co-accused. On the aforesaid ground as wellas on the ground of parity, the FIRs/complaints, referred to hereinabove,are also required to be transferred to IFSO unit of Delhi Police so far asthe petitioner is concerned being co-accused.B
6. At this stage, it is required to be noted that by the aforesaidorder dated 10.08.2022 in the case of accused Nupur Sharma, thisCourt has also passed an order that investigation of any subsequentFIRs/complaints which are registered in future in respect of the sameincident/occurrence, namely, Newshour Debate telecasted on Times NowCon 26.05.2022 shall also stand transferred to IFSO unit of Delhi Police.
7. Taking into consideration the order passed by this Court dated10.08.2022 in the case of accused Nupur Sharma passed inMiscellaneous Application No. 1238/2022 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No.239/2022, we dispose of the present writ petition with the followingDdirections:
i) all FIRs/complaints, referred to hereinabove in paragraph 2 and2.1 are ordered to be transferred to the IFSO unit of Delhi Police;ii) first FIR No. 683 dated 28.05.2022 along with FIR No. 140 of2022 dated 08.06.2022 registered by Delhi Police, IFSO Unit areEto be treated as lead cases and investigated together along withthe other FIRs/complaints, referred to hereinabove, in which thepetitioner is the co-accused, which are already ordered to betransferred to IFSO unit of Delhi Police;
iii) IFSO unit of Delhi Police shall be at liberty to collect andFgather any information from the concerned State agencies, if sorequired, for the purpose of conducting a thorough investigationand taking it to its logical conclusion; iv) no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner pursuantto the aforesaid FIRs/complaints and for the FIRs/complaintsGwhich may be entertained in future pertaining to the telecast dated26.05.2022 on Times Now, for a period of eight weeks from todayso as to enable the petitioner to approach the concerned Court/Delhi High Court for appropriate relief; and
v) the investigation of any subsequent FIRs/complaints which areregistered in future in respect of the same Newshour Debate H
telecasted on Times Now on 26.05.2022 shall also stand transferredto IFSO unit of Delhi police.
8. As far as the primary prayer in terms of prayer (a) in the writpetition is concerned, the petitioner shall be at liberty to pursue suchprayer by approaching the High Court of Delhi under Article 226 of theConstitution of India or Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Asand when such proceedings are instituted by the petitioner, the sameshall be considered in accordance with law and on their own merits. Weclarify and make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on themerits of the allegations contained in the various FIRs/complaints.
9. The present petition stands disposed of in terms of the above.
Devika Gujral
Writ petition disposed of.
(Assisted by : Neha Sharma, LCRA)
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