MUMBAI: The Bombay high court, on August 1, slapped a ₹25,000 fine on a man for filing a false petition where he claimed he was illegally arrested and was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Based on his medical records, the court noted that he was never in police custody.
₹25,000 for ‘false’ petition; cites suppression of facts” title=”HC slaps fine of ₹25,000 for ‘false’ petition; cites suppression of facts” />Ashish Virendra Pratap Singh, claimed that he has been falsely implicated by Devendra Jagdish Singh for offences under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable securities and wills), 471 (using forged document as genuine) and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. He told the court that the FIR was registered on January 16, 2025 at the Mumbra Police Station, Thane, where Singh was named the co-accused.
In Singh’s petition he alleged that the police arrested him on January 17, and he was taken to various hospitals for medical examinations and routine check ups while he was still in police custody. His advocate Ashok Dubey told the court that the arrest was illegal, and Singh had not been produced before the magistrate within the mandatory 24-hour period following his arrest. Dubey added that this was a violation of his fundamental right, and demanded the court to offer him relief and order the police not to further arrest him.
However, additional public prosecutor SV Gavand opposed the petition and asked for it to be dismissed with a heavy penalty. Gavand told the court that Singh had suppressed vital facts and not mentioned that he had appealed for anticipatory bail, a plea that was rejected on June 25. He added, “This petition, filed on July 14, makes no disclosure of this crucial development.”
Gavand told the court that after Singh’s anticipatory bail was rejected, he had filed this petition to indirectly get a court order which would stop the police from arresting him. He added that Singh’s medical records showed that he was advised to go to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, but instead chose to seek treatment at other private hospitals. While Singh claimed that he had been in police custody during his hospital visits, Gavand told the court that he had been taken to the hospitals by his relatives.
A division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad carefully examined his hospital records and noted that he was not an “arrestee” at the time he was admitted. The medical record indicated that after Singh declined admission to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital on January 17, he admitted himself to Navkaar Hospital.
Singh’s discharge summary proved that his relatives had asked for him to be transferred to another hospital, and there was no mention of the police admitting him to the hospital. This indicated that he was not in police custody and was accompanied by his family.
The court said that the medical records established, beyond any doubt, that Singh had not been in police custody at any point. Therefore, his claim of being arrested and not produced before the magistrate was entirely false, the court added.
“Since he was not under arrest, the question of his production before the magistrate does not arise”, the court noted. The court also held that the deliberate suppression of facts was a serious error. “The petitioner has, therefore, approached this court with unclean hands”, the bench said.
The court highlighted that Singh was attempting a “second bite at the cherry” by seeking relief from the court after his anticipatory bail was rejected earlier. The court observed that Singh’s petition was cleverly drafted by suppressing facts and essentially aimed to protect him from any coercive actions by the police.
The court declined to grant any relief to Singh and allowed the investigation to proceed in accordance with law. The court dismissed Singh’s petition calling it false and an abuse of the process of law. The bench imposed a ₹25,000 fine on Singh which he must deposit within 21 days.