Mamta Pandey & Ors. vs. State of UP & Ors.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India registered a Special Leave Petition (Crl) (No.8687/2022) in the case of Dr. Mamta Pandey & Ors. v State of UP & Ors. The Petitioners in the case filed this SLP being aggrieved by the impugned order of the Hon’ble High Court of judicature of Allahabad, Lucknow bench, dated 01.09.2022. The leading Counsel for the Petitioners highlighted that the Hon’ble High Court dismissed
the writ petition on hyper technical grounds without getting into the merits of the case. The Apex Court took cognizance of the pointed arguments by the Learned Counsel and secured relief for the Petitioners.
The Petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate Mr. Vikas Singh, assisted by Mr. Varun Singh along with a team of SKV Law Offices (Commercial).
Factual Overview:
On the morning of 26/08/2021, a death incident was noticed at 6/97 Vipul Khand, Gomtinagar, Lucknow. The Father of the deceased (Complainant) registered a complaint on the same day for an investigation into the unnatural death of her daughter. Translated copies of the Complaint, Post-mortem as well as the Inquest reports are also done and dated 26.08.2021.
Given the first complaint and the aforementioned documents were produced on 26.08.2021, the FIR should have been registered based on the first complaint. However, the FIR report in connivance was registered as per the second complaint by the deceased’s father on 27/08/2022. Notably, it was only the next day when extended family members (Petitioners in the case) were accused in the complaint, out of spite and grief. This FIR (No. 591/2021) was filed under Sections 34, 302, 498-A, and 508 of IPC. It was
alleged that the deceased was harassed for dowry. This was even though none of the Petitioners were present at the house of the deceased and substantial evidence was produced in support of this.
It was in this context that a writ petition in the Hon’ble High Court was filed by the Petitioners to quash the impugned FIR No. 0591/2021 dated 27/08/2022. However, the Hon’ble High Court entertained the case and stayed the arrest of Petitioners. In fact, through the order vide 01/09/2022, the Hon’ble High Court passed a final order dismissing the write petition. Hence, the Petitioners had to file the aforementioned Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court of India.
The Supreme Court Ruling
The Leading Counsel for Petitioners presented before the Apex Court some erroneous observations in the trajectory of Dr. Mamta Pandey & Ors. vs State of UP & Ors. Case.
● Firstly, the Hon’ble High Court, initially allowed the amendment of the petition to challenge the charge sheet filed by the investigating officer but later it held that the power to quash a charge sheet under writ jurisdiction does not vest in the High Court. This is contrary to observations made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Wyeth Limited & Ors. State of Bihar & Anr. and Pepsi Foods Ltd v. Special Judicial Magistrate, 1998.
● Most importantly, the Hon’ble High Court ignored the fact that the FIR registered against the Petitioners was not based on the complaint submitted by the respondent (father of the deceased) on the day of the tragic incident in which the Petitioners were not co-accused. It was only the next day when extended family members were accused in the complaint out of spite and grief. This reflects a significant oversight of the impeccable evidence provided by the petitioners of their absence (of presence elsewhere) from the house of the deceased.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court took cognizance of the presented arguments and stayed the arrest of the Petitioners, granting the much needed relief to the Petitioners.
Therefore, while the law takes its course and the reasons and circumstances of the incident are established, we must ensure that all those proven innocent based on immaculate evidence and sound reasoning are not stigmatized and their social lives are not shunned.
SKV Comment:
SKV Law offices (Commercial) successfully secured a favorable relief from the Hon’bleSupreme Court of India for our Petitioners in the Mamta Pandey & Ors. vs State of UP & Ors. case. Our team of advocates in the given case asserted that the conviction must be rooted in transparent legal processes and accepted legal-philosophical norms. Therefore, the aforementioned FIR which was registered by the father of the deceased to falsely implicate the relatives for ulterior motives was condemned and contradicted. In short, justice, as a legal appendage not only ensures that the felony is punished and wronged is placated but also that no innocent is denied her dignity and freedom.
Please find the link of the Order Here
