E-Pao.net: Imphal: Saturday,
March 11, 2017.
The Chief
Justice of High Court of Manipur Mr.RakeshRanjan Prasad quashed an FIR lodged
maliciously against an RTI User on 24.02.2017 .The FIR bearing No.264 (9) 20115
PRT-PS u/s 420 IPC was lodged by Mr.Luis Ngasainao, Director, Agriculture
Department against Mr.Ayekpam Keshorjit Singh, Haobam Marak Iromleikai, Imphal
for using forged BPL ration card while submitting RTI applications.
The said FIR
was lodged to the Porompat Police Station on 10.09.2015.In the complaint filed
by Mr.Luis Ngaisanao to the Police, he mentioned that Mr.Keshorjit used two
different BPL ration cards while he was filling RTI application to the
Agriculture and Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Departments and he
requested to investigate the BPL cards as he suspected both the ration cards.
It may be
mentioned that it is the second incident that the Government of Manipur
harassed citizens who were questioning the Government by demanding transparency
and accountability for using public money.
In 2008, one
Mr.Titus Kamei of Nungba Village, Tamenglong District was also arrested and
detained under because he tried to find out the truth behind the controversial
implementation of Rashtriya SramVikasYojana, RSVY in Tamenglong District,
through RTI and thereafter released him unconditionally due to intervention by
the Central Government.
Just after
some days of filling the FIR, a team of Porompat Police Station came to the
resident of Mr.Keshorjit Singh for arresting him.
However, the
unfortunate incident was not happen as Mr.Keshorjit was not in his home on the
ill-fated day.
Later on, he
visited the Police Station and met the O.C.namely Th.Dinesh Singh and requested
him to withdraw such malicious allegation.
But the
Police denied his sincere request.
Being a
whistle blower, Mr.Keshorjit was in mental agony, trouble and trauma for the
last one and half years for the cause of transparency work and contention of
corruption.
It is
shameful for some lawyers who advised their clients to file such malicious FIR
against citizens which is amounted to harass and intimidation of innocent
citizens unnecessarily.
Immediately,
being aggrieved Mr.Keshorjit approached to the Session Court, Imphal East for
interim bail and the Court passed an order for interim bail on 24.09.2015 and
then an absolute bail was granted by the same court on 05.0.2015 (copy
attached).
However, the
I.O.concerned denied to submit an FR till the expired of stipulated time period
for submitting a charge sheet of the said alleged offence despite the fact that
the District Supply Officer, CAF&PD, Imphal West submitted them that the
said two BPL ration card were found to be correct and maintained both the cards
in their office record.
Thus
Mr.Keshorjit filed a Cril.
Application
to the Court of CJM, Imphal East for calling a status report of the said FIR.
On
02.11.2016, the Officer-in-Charge of Porompat Police Station namely Mr.AK.
Shantikumar
Singh submitted a status report to the Court stating that a charge sheet is to
be submitted soon (copy attached).
However, the
Charge Sheet was never submitted which is lingering an innocent citizen by an
FIR for many months unnecessarily and thus having no other efficacious avenue,
Mr.Keshorjit file a write petition before the High Court of Manipur for
quashing the said malicious FIR and thus the Honble High Court issued an order
stating that ..Here in the instant case,
the allegation that the petitioner does have two BPL cards does not fall in any
of the categories of making a false document.
In that
event, the question of offence of forgery being attracted never does arise...Advocate
Wahengbam Ojit Singh represented Mr, Keshorjit at Session Court and CJM Court
and Advocate Ms.SarvodayaLaksmi& her team represented in the High Court.
During the
pendency of the said FIR, the Agriculture Department submitted wrong facts to
the Manipur Information Commission so that Mr.Keshorjit was also compelled to
bear all the unnecessary proceedings taken up against him and thereafter in
July 2016, he was also accused by a proscribed group being misused of the RTI
Act with Agriculture Department.
It is
revealed that if Mr.Keshorjit committed the said allegation, the Agriculture
Department might not file the FRI.
But such kind
of frivolous acts of public authorities cannot sabotage the practice of
participatory democracy through using RTI Act.
Corruption
could not be socially accepted norms longer in Manipur if every section of
society particularly media can highlight corrupted practices of the public
authority frequently.
Now, the
present order of the High Court indicates that corrupted public servants could
never misuse the true spirit of law by filling such malicious allegations.
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