Allahabad High Court Stays Criminal Proceedings Against AMU Student Booked Over Anti-CAA Protests In 2020

The petitioner, Misbah Qaiser, a B.Arch. Student at the university had been booked under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint) IPC on the allegations of blocking the road which hindered the arrival of common public on the road, as well as the ambulances.

Appearing for Qaiser, Advocates Ali Bin Saif, Kaif Hassan and Zeeshan Khan, argued before a bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Pachori that the impugned FIR was lodged on the basis of false and frivolous allegations with an ulterior motive and only to harass the applicant.

Furthermore, it was also contended that the cognizance order is flawed in law, as the cognizance of Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code was taken based on a written complaint from a police official.

Qaiser's plea points out that according to Section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), cognizance of offenses punishable under Sections 172 to 188 of the IPC can only be taken upon the written complaint of the concerned public servant or another public servant to whom they are administratively subordinate. This, however, is not the case in the present matter, the plea adds.

Lastly, it was argued that there is no pre-summoning evidence with regard to the offence, as alleged.

Noting that the matter prima facie requires consideration, the Court asked the AGA, as well as respondent No. 2, to file their counter affidavits within three weeks. The matter will be listed after eight weeks.