Allegations Disclose Ingredients Of Forgery For Defamation: Madhya Pradesh High Court Refuses To Quash Journalist’s Complaint Against Government Officer

The Application before the High Court was filed under Section 482 of CrPC by the applicant Satya Prakash Sharma seeking quashment of an FIR registered under Sections 465 and 469 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Single Bench of Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke held, “Upon careful scrutiny of the FIR and accompanying material, this Court is satisfied that the allegations, taken at their face value, disclose a prima facie commission of cognizable offences. The investigation appears to have been conducted in accordance with law, and there is nothing to suggest that it was actuated by mala fides or ulterior motives. The plea of vendetta or counterblast is speculative and unsupported by any cogent material.”

“In the present case, accepting the allegations at their face value clearly discloses the ingredients of forgery and forgery for the purpose of defamation; hence, the said judgment affords no relief”, it added.

Advocate Sanjay Gupta represented the Appellant, while Public Prosecutor BPS Chauhan represented the State.

Factual Background

The complainant, describing himself as a journalist working with Dainik Rajdhani Media, lodged a written complaint alleging that he had received nine SMS messages indicating that several Speed Post articles had been booked in his name. He immediately approached the concerned postal authorities and informed them that no such postal booking had been made by him. On his request, the authorities initiated a process to recall the said postal articles, which had been falsely booked in his name. Upon opening one of the envelopes, the complainant found that it contained a typed complaint addressed to the Transport Minister and the Transport Commissioner, purporting to be from him. The said complaint falsely mentioned the complainant’s name, address, and mobile number as the sender on the envelope.

The complainant alleged that some unknown person, by impersonating him, had sent these forged complaints with the intention to defame and malign his reputation as a journalist and to cause harm to the goodwill of his newspaper. An alleged FIR was registered under Sections 465 and 469 of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to forgery and forgery for the purpose of harming reputation. Accordingly, a case was registered and was taken up for investigation.

Reasoning

The Bench reiterated that the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 CrPC is of an extraordinary nature and is to be exercised sparingly and with great caution, only where the complaint or FIR, even if taken at its face value and accepted in its entirety, does not disclose the commission of any offence or where the criminal proceedings manifestly amount to an abuse of process of law.

The Bench took note of the records, which revealed that the nine postal articles were booked in the name of the complainant and were found to contain typed complaints purporting to be from him, thereby constituting false and misleading documents. It was noticed that the CCTV footage of the relevant post office established that the said articles were booked by one Ajay Salunke, who was employed as the private driver of the applicant. The mobile location of the applicant was also found in close proximity to the post office at the relevant time. As per the submissions made, it was an admitted position that the applicant is a Class-II Gazetted Officer.

“Though the applicant has sought to explain the said location on the plea that the mobile phone was kept in his vehicle to monitor the driver’s movement, such an explanation is essentially a matter of defence which can only be tested during trial and not at this stage”, it added.

Reference was also made to the statement of witness Sanjay Verma, who has been operating the Chambal Times News. He reported that on April 4, 2022, he observed a four-wheeler vehicle arrive. Ajay Salunke, the driver, alighted and entered the RMS office carrying yellow envelopes handed to him by Satya Prakash Sharma (present applicant), who remained seated in the vehicle. After some time, Ajay Salunke returned carrying receipts and handed them to the applicant before both left the premises. He further stated that his colleague, journalist Dharmveer Kushwah, informed him that the applicant had written the names and mobile numbers of nine individuals on the envelopes and had them sent via speed post through his personal driver from the RMS office. “This clearly implicates Satya Prakash Sharma (present applicant), in the preparation and dispatch of false complaints. These actions directly implicate Satya Prakash Sharma in preparing and dispatching false complaints”, the Bench held.

“The totality of circumstances, namely, the role of the driver, the proximity of the applicant’s location, and the nature of the forged documents create a prima facie nexus sufficient to justify continuation of investigation and prosecution”, it added. The Bench was of the view that accepting the allegations at their face value clearly disclosed the ingredients of forgery and forgery for the purpose of defamation. “These authorities are squarely applicable to the present case, where the applicant seeks appreciation of factual matters such as the interpretation of CCTV footage, the explanation for his mobile location, and the credibility of witness statements all of which can only be tested through evidence during trial”, the order read.

Dismissing the Miscellaneous Criminal Case filed by the applicant under Section 482 CrPC, the Bench clarified that any observations made were confined to the consideration of the present application under Section 482 CrPC.

Cause Title: Satya Prakash Sharma v. The State of Madhya Pradesh (Neutral Citation: 2025:MPHC-GWL:25528)

Appearance

Petitioner: Advocate Sanjay Gupta

Respondent: Public Prosecutor BPS Chauhan, Senior Advocate Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Advocates V.K. Agarwal, Rahul Jha

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