CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR against a man accused in a criminal case in Nayagarh district, holding that he deliberately concealed the rejection of his anticipatory bail pleas by both the high court and the Supreme Court.
Imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner for not approaching the court with “clean hands”, Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra directed him to deposit the amount in the Odisha Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Justice Mishra passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by Benudhar Pradhan under section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), seeking quashing of the FIR registered at Fategarh police station. Pradhan is accused of offences including attempt to murder under different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. While investigation in the case is ongoing, the matter is pending before the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Bhapur.
The high court noted that Pradhan filed the FIR-quashing petition on October 21, after his anticipatory bail plea had been rejected by the high court on September 10 and subsequently by the Supreme Court on October 16. However, he did not disclose either of the two orders in his fresh petition.
The judge observed that it was incumbent upon the petitioner to make a full and candid disclosure of the earlier judicial orders. When the issue was raised, his counsel argued that the high court rules did not require disclosure of the rejection of an earlier anticipatory bail application in a petition seeking quashing of an FIR under Section 528 of BNSS.
Rejecting the argument, Justice Mishra said it ran contrary to settled principles governing disclosure and a litigant’s obligation to place all relevant facts before a court. The suppression alone was sufficient to warrant dismissal of the petition, the Judge observed.
