HC quashes FIR against COVID positive doctor booked for alleged Failure to report arrival
Chhattisgarh: The Chhattisgarh High Court has quashed an FIR registered against a young doctor for not informing the authorities regarding her arrival from Delhi.
The doctor has been identified as a medical graduate who was preparing for her civil service examination in Delhi and following the lockdown, she returned to her native town in Rajnandgaon but was tested COVID positive the very next day. Soon the Ambagarh chowki Nagar Panchayat's Chief Municipal officer recorded that she had not informed the authorities or the district collector about her arrival as per the protocol after which police filed an FIR against her at Ambagarh chowki police station.
The doctor turned towards High Court for redressal, and now the Chhattisgarh High Court has quashed the FIR stating that no first information report under section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code can be registered for an offence under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. IPC Section 188 deals with the Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant while Section 154 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with information in cognizable cases.
Times of India reports that in the complaint, the municipal official said that the doctor did not inform the authority about her arrival from New Delhi and it was mandated by the District Collector. It was also alleged that she did not inform the authorities that she has been tested COVID positive.
However, in her submission, the doctor clarified that she applied for an e-pass before travelling back to her hometown in June and she also got herself examined at a community health centre for COVID. She also confirmed that she had informed the Chief Medical Officer at Rajnandgaon on June 10th about her arrival. She was tested covid positive the next day and was receiving treatment in a health facility when she got to know that one of the chief municipal officers has lodged a complaint against under section 188 of IPC.
The petitioner sought the direction of the court for quashing the FIR on the pretext that under the CrPC provisions for offences under section 188 of IPC, no steps can be taken by the magistrate unless a complaint in writing is made by the public servant concerned, therefore police cannot register FIR under section 154 of CrPC or cannot investigate the case also.
The petitioner also argued that the district collector's order to inform the authorities on arrival has never been promulgated by the collector in the official gadget or by the beat of drum, therefore, the doctor has no information regarding the collector's instruction and she did not approach the collector separately to inform about her arrival.
After receiving the submission of the petitioner, the single bench of Justice Sanjay K Agrawal held that for the offence punishable under section 188 of IPC, no FIR can be registered under section 154 of CrPC and quashed the offense registered against her under this section—citing a Supreme Court judgement in the matter of state of Haryana vs Bhajanlal and others, reports TOI.
Next Story
