Prayagraj, 26 August: The Allahabad High Court has given relief to Dr Kafeel Ahmed Khan of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. The petitioner has got the benefit from the court for the technical flaws of the prosecution.
The court has quashed the proceedings of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Aligarh taking cognizance of filing the chargesheet without taking permission from the government to prosecute him.
The court has sent back the letter to the CJM for action as per rules only after the government’s permission to prosecute.
After getting permission from the government, Dr Kafeel can face a criminal case. Justice Gautam Chaudhary has given this order on the petition of Dr Kafeel Khan.
Senior advocate Dilip Kumar and state government’s Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal and Additional Government Advocate Patanjali Mishra presented their side on the petition.
An FIR was lodged against the petitioner for giving provocative, anti-national speech in a meeting organized at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the police filed a chargesheet.
The CJM also took cognizance of the report whose validity was challenged. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that under section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a criminal case cannot be started against a public servant without the permission of the government. The order of the magistrate should be set aside as it is against the Supreme Court and the legal provisions.
It was said on behalf of the government that if the prosecution is not allowed at the time of framing the charges, then the proceedings can be quashed. The petition against the order to take cognizance is not maintainable. But the court quashed the order of the magistrate to take cognizance without taking the permission of the government.
