The Bombay High Court has dismissed an application filed by former AIMIM MLA Farukh Shah seeking to quash an FIR registered against him for allegedly constructing a public square in Dhule and naming it after Tipu Sultan without following the due process of law.
The division bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Sanjay A. Deshmukh observed that the investigation into the matter was still underway and noted that there were several unanswered questions around the construction, including whether Shah had obtained necessary permissions or misused public funds.
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The court remarked, "All persons, including those attached to a political party, are required to obtain construction permission under the local bylaws of the municipal authority. A public square, road or place cannot be named by the MLA on his own." The judges explained that under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act and the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, proposals for naming a public square must be placed before the concerned general body of elected members and approved by consensus.
According to the FIR lodged at Chalisgaon Road Police Station in June 2023, Shah was accused of constructing a raised platform named “Tipu Sultan Chowk” without permission, allegedly creating communal tension between two communities. The FIR invoked sections 153-A (promoting enmity between groups on religious grounds), 295-A (insulting religious beliefs), 504 (intentional insult), 505(1) (public mischief), 506 (criminal intimidation), 124-A (sedition), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, along with sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
Shah argued that Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter and a warrior and therefore naming the square after him should not attract any criminal liability. He also alleged that the FIR was politically motivated by rival groups.
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However, the court noted inconsistencies in Shah’s stand. Now the applicant at one place is supporting the act of naming the square in the name of Tipu Sultan and in another place he is claiming innocence. Both these acts cannot go together, the judges highlighted.
The bench further raised concerns about the manner in which Shah had obtained a supplementary statement from the police file which had not been officially given to him. The judges remarked, “It is absolutely not proper on the part of a party to produce a document by obtaining the custody of such document in otherwise manner. The Advocate should not run the risk of producing such document before the court where he cannot explain the source.”
The court took note of a report by the Sub Divisional Police Officer, Dhule City, stating that no such supplementary statement had been shared with the applicant and an inquiry had been ordered to trace how he got access to the document.
Given these factors, the bench refused to exercise its powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to quash the FIR.
The fact is that now the investigation is still going on and who had erected the construction in the chowk, whether permission to construct was obtained or not, whether the funds which were available for MLA were utilized for making that construction, the investigation is underway, the bench stated.
In conclusion, the judges held that this was not a fit case to quash the FIR at this stage and dismissed Shah’s plea.
