HCs Cannot Stay Investigation When Prima Facie Offence Established, SC Holds

The Supreme Court of India, on February 13, held that High Courts cannot stay investigation and arrest when prima facie offence is made out and investigation is at a nascent stage. 

Th case was registered by the Police and Enforcement Directorate against the office bearers of India Bulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL).

Bench comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Prasanna B Varale observed that, "Without undermining the powers of the High Court under Section 482 of Cr.PC to quash the proceedings if the allegations made in the FIR or complaint prima facie do not constitute any offence against the accused, or if the criminal proceedings are found to be manifestly malafide or malicious, instituted with ulterior motive etc., we are of the opinion that the High Court could not have stayed the investigations and restrained the investigating agencies from investigating into the cognizable offences as alleged in the FIRs and the ECIR, particularly when the investigations were at a very nascent stage."

The Court said that the inherent powers under Section 482 of Cr.PC did not confer any arbitrary jurisdiction on the High Court to act according to whims or caprice.

"The statutory power has to be exercised sparingly with circumspection and in the rarest of rare cases," the Court added.

The Court held that the impugned order of the High Court were in the teeth of the Supreme Court's decision in Neeharika Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. vs. State of Maharashtra and Others (2021) SCC Online SC 315.

The appeals were allowed and the impugned orders passed by the High Court being not in consonance with the settled legal position, were set aside.