HC Quashes Cases Against Arts College Principal Kasim

In a significant ruling reinforcing procedural safeguards in criminal law, the Telangana High Court today quashed two criminal cases registered against Professor C Kasim, Principal of the Arts College, Osmania University.

Justice Tukaram held that the mandatory requirement under Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) had not been followed.

Professor Kasim had been booked under Section 188 of the IPC for allegedly conducting a dharna on the university campus in violation of an order issued by the Registrar prohibiting protests on the campus.

The petitioner's counsel, T Rahul, submitted that offences under Section 188 IPC could be taken cognisance of only upon a written complaint by the concerned public servant, as mandated under Section 195 CrPC. However, in the present case, FIRs were registered by the police without such a complaint being filed before the Magistrate, he argued.

He contended that since Section 188 IPC fell within the ambit of Section 195 CrPC, the Registrar, being the competent public servant, should have filed a complaint directly before the jurisdictional Magistrate. The registration of FIRs by the police based merely on information given at the police station was in clear violation of the mandatory bar under Section 195 CrPC, Rahul said.

Accepting the contention, the court held that the statutory embargo under Section 195 CrPC had been violated and consequently quashed the proceedings.

The judgement was based on the tenet that criminal prosecution must strictly adhere to procedural mandates, particularly where the law prescribes a specific mode of initiating action. It reiterates the mandatory nature of Section 195 CrPC and prevents the misuse of the criminal process in cases governed by statutory procedural safeguards.