Raipur: The Chhattisgarh High Court has quashed a criminal case and a 2018 First Information Report (FIR) registered against a woman journalist, observing that continuing the proceedings after an unexplained delay of over six years would cause serious prejudice and unnecessary harassment.
Court’s Observation on Speedy Trial
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal stated, “The right to a speedy investigation and trial forms an integral facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India and cannot be defeated by administrative inaction or institutional lethargy.”
Background of the Case
The petition was filed by Shriya Panday (Dubey), who was working as a media reporter with a news channel in June 2018. On the night of June 20, 2018, she visited the Mahila police station in Bilaspur to verify reports about the alleged detention of nurses and their spouses. The police registered an FIR against her under Sections 186, 353, 323, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Arguments by Petitioner’s Counsel
Petitioner’s counsel Ujjwal Choubey argued that she visited the police station solely for professional duties to gather facts on a matter of public importance. He submitted that the media team faced hostility from police officials. The counsel also highlighted that the petitioner later secured anticipatory bail, got married, shifted to Raigarh, and has been leading a settled family life without any criminal antecedents.
State’s Opposition
State counsel Shailendra Sharma opposed the petition, stating that the trial court had already taken cognizance of the offences. He argued that the grounds raised involved disputed facts requiring validation during a trial.
High Court’s Findings
The High Court noted that the alleged incident took place on June 20, 2018, but the police filed the charge-sheet only on November 11, 2024. The record did not disclose any satisfactory justification for the extraordinary delay. The bench found that the prosecution case relied primarily on statements from police personnel and interested witnesses without independent corroboration. It noted that the material collected did not establish any overt act by the journalist to support the alleged offences.
The court allowed the petition and quashed the FIR, the 2019 charge-sheet, the cognizance order, and all consequential criminal proceedings against the petitioner.
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