JAMMU, Aug 12: Justice MA Chowdhary while hearing a, WP(C) No. 2788/2022has dismissed a writ petition filed by a former Tehsildar challenging an FIR registered against him in an alleged bribery trap case.
The court also dismissed the connected applications and vacated any interim directions.
Applicant alleged that the trap was fabricated and motivated by prior hostility arising from his inquiry into alleged forged signatures of the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, in connection with a land mutation.
The court rejected the territorial-jurisdiction argument, holding that an FIR cannot be quashed merely because it was initially registered at a police station beyond its territorial jurisdiction.
Referring to Section 156(2) of the CrPC and Supreme Court judgments, Justice Chowdhary observed that such issues can be addressed during inquiry or trial.
The court further noted that the ACB transferred the investigation to the Jammu jurisdictional police station the very next day. Subsequently, the J&K Government transferred the case to the CBI, whose independent investigation examined the voice recording, CCTV footage and other aspects raised by Tehsildar.
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