Gujarat HC quashes FIR against Cong leader, two others — Kidnapping case

Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed an FIR against three persons, including senior Congress leader Jagdish Thakor , in a case involving allegations of kidnapping and criminal intimidation linked to a land sale dispute.

The FIR was registered at Adalaj police station after a woman filed a complaint over a sale deed for a land parcel valued at around Rs 150 crore. They feel that disputes come to end instantly, so let the cops take away 25-50 per cent. Because people have no patience for waiting for 10-15 years for disposal of civil matters, people are also going there.

Thakor and two others moved the high court through advocate Anand Yagnik, arguing that the complainant had been pressured by a senior police officer to level false allegations against them. Justice Gita Gopi, while hearing the matter, criticised police involvement in civil disputes. “Police is interested. They are doing business. They find their salary inadequate,” the judge remarked during the hearing. When the petitioners’ lawyer alleged that police officers had taken money, public prosecutor Hardik Dave objected to the IPS officer being named in the affidavit. The judge responded orally, “They take money. We know everything. Don’t we know it? Such things are not disclosed. Very few courageous people would write it. Let it come on the record. Why should it not come on record? Personally I want it to come. The court also made broader oral observations on police functioning in land-related disputes. “Police has begun functioning as a court in the entire Gujarat when it comes to land matters. But this is not the way. We have to protect our institution. As officers of the court, we are bound to protect the judicial system (sic),” the judge remarked.

The petitioners claimed that the officer had allegedly coerced the complainant into selling the land to two other persons at a throwaway price. They alleged coercion by the police officer and gave their consent for quashing the FIR. The court eventually quashed the FIR after the petitioners and the complainant agreed, following state govt’s insistence, to remove the IPS officer’s name from the affidavit.

The complainant, her husband, who was described as the alleged kidnapping victim, and her brother later filed an affidavit before the high court stating that the case was fake.