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The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed an FIR filed against former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The latter was booked for allegedly campaigning during the ‘silence period’ in February 2022. The silence period is the time when physical campaigning is prohibited before an election.
As per the prosecution, AAP Mansa candidate Dr Vijay Singla submitted a written complaint to poll officials during the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. He alleged that Charanjit Singh Channi and Sidhu Moosewala held an election rally at Mansa near Triveni Mandir and also held a door-to-door campaign in the area during the silence period. Sidhu Moosewala was the Congress candidate for Mansa.
The police later filed an FIR at PS City-1, Mansa.
After the death of Sidhu Moosewala on May 29, 2022, the investigating officer filed a challan against Charanjit Singh Channi on July 1, 2022.
Hearing the matter, Justice Anoop Chitkara observed, “The fundamental reason to disrupt the criminal trial is the express bar of Section 195 CrPC, which applies to the facts of the present case on all fours. Section 1951 CrPC clearly states that the Court cannot take Cognizance of the Police Report/Challan. Complaint is defined under section 2(d)2 of CrPC, which excludes the Police Report/Challan under section 173 CrPC, and the cognizance can be taken only on a complaint filed by the complainant in Court under section 200 of CrPC. Neither the police report/Challan under section 173(2)3 CrPC could have been filed in the Court, nor could the Court have taken cognizance of the offence based on such a police report.”
The HC ordered, “Complaint dated February 25, 2021, and the police report (Challan) under Section 173 CrPC filed in FIR No. 42 dated February 18, 2022, are quashed, and set aside. Consequently, all further proceedings are also quashed and set aside”.
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