Jammu & Kashmir High Court – Srinagar Bench
District Budgam vs R/O Goshbugh on 27 July, 2026
Serial No. 04
Regular Cause List
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT SRINAGAR
CrlM No. 1144/2026 in
CRM (M) No. 496/2026
CrlM No. 1145/2026
Dated: 27th of July, 2026.
Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh, Age: 61 Years
S/O Abdul Ahad Sheikh
R/O Sechin Bonet Beerwah,
District Budgam.
... Petitioner(s)
Through: -
Mr Aadil Parray, Advocate.
V/s
1. Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir
Through Station House Officer (SHO),
Police Station Crime Branch, Kashmir, Srinagar.
2. Abdul Rehman Wani
S/O Gh. Rasool Wani
R/O Goshbugh, Pattan, Baramulla.
... Respondent(s)
Through: –
Ms Mejhabeen, Advocate.
CORAM: HON’BLE MR JUSTICE SHAHZAD AZEEM, JUDGE.
(ORDER)
CrlM No. 1144/2026:
01. By virtue of this application, the Applicant/ Petitioner is
seeking exemption from filing the certified copy of impugned FIR No.
34/2017 registered by Police Station, Crime Branch, Kashmir, Srinagar.
02. Having regard to the averments made in the application,
coupled with submissions made at the Bar, the instant application is
allowed and the Applicant/ Petitioner is exempted from filing the certified
copy of the impugned FIR.
CrlM No. 1144/2026 in
CRM (M) No. 496/2026
CrlM No. 1145/2026
Page 2 of 3
03. CrlM No. 1144/2026 is, thus, disposed of on the above terms.
CRM (M) No. 496/2026; CrlM No. 1145/2026:
04. Heard learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner.
05. The Petitioner seeks quashing of FIR No. 34/2017 of Police
Station Crime Branch, Kashmir, Srinagar registered for offences under
Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
06. Indisputably, the name of the Petitioner does not figure in the
impugned FIR as an accused. The Petitioner is principally aggrieved of the
notice issued under Section 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr. P.
C.) and apprehending that he may be roped in as an accused in the said FIR.
07. By the present Petition, the Petitioner, in substance, seeks to
restrain the Investigating Agency from proceeding further in the
investigation. The sole basis of this apprehension is the issuance of the
notice under Section 41-A Cr. P. C.
08. From the pleadings on record, it is evident that prior to the
institution of present Petition, the Petitioner had already approached this
Court seeking quashing of the very same FIR on substantially identical
grounds by way of CRM (M) No. 88/2025, wherein only notice has been
issued and same is pending adjudication.
09. The present Petition, therefore, constitutes a second attempt at
the same relief and runs contrary to the settled principle that registration of
an FIR under Section 154 Cr. P. C. is mandatory once the information
discloses commission of a cognizable offence. The Hon’ble Supreme Court
in case titled “Lalita Kumari V. Government of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.,
(2014) 2 SCC 1″ has categorically held that registration of FIR under
Section 154 Cr. P. C. is mandatory when the information discloses
CrlM No. 1144/2026 in
CRM (M) No. 496/2026
CrlM No. 1145/2026
Page 3 of 3
commission of a cognizable offence. The police, therefore, has no
discretion to refuse registration or to conduct a preliminary inquiry to test
the veracity of such information, rather it is their statutory duty to conduct
the investigation.
10. From the perusal of the hue and cry notice, it seems that the
Petitioner, instead of cooperating with the Investigating Agency, has
absconded and now has filed the instant Petition seeking quashing of the
impugned FIR, in which he is not even named as an accused. The Petition
is, in essence, an attempt to use the process of this Court to stall the
statutory investigation. Such a course is wholly impermissible and does not
call for any interference at this stage.
11. For the foregoing reasons, this Petition is found to be grossly
misconceived and same is, accordingly, dismissed, along with the
connected CrlM.
(SHAHZAD AZEEM)
JUDGE
SRINAGAR
July 27th, 2026
“TAHIR”
i. Whether the Order is approved for reporting? Yes/ No.
Tahir Manzoor Bhat
I attest to the accuracy and
authenticity of this
document
