Summary
The Supreme Court upheld the quashing of an FIR against two Members of Parliament and others for allegedly pressuring air traffic control officials at Deoghar Airport to clear a take-off, holding that the FIR did not make out offences under Sections 336, 447 or 448 IPC, and that offences under the Aircraft Act, 1934 can be taken cognizance of only on a complaint by or with sanction of the authorities named in Section 12B, so the police could only forward their material to such an authorised officer.
Issues
- Whether the allegations in the FIR, taken at face value, made out offences under Sections 336, 447 and 448 IPC.
- Whether, in view of Section 12B of the Aircraft Act, 1934, the local police could proceed on an FIR for offences under that Act, and what course remained open to the State.
Provisions considered
- Section 336, Indian Penal Code, 1860The offence requires a rash or negligent act endangering human life or personal safety; the accused merely asked ATC for take-off permission and the aircraft took off only after ATC clearance, so no rash or negligent act was alleged. (¶¶ 33, 34)
- Sections 441 and 447, Indian Penal Code, 1860Criminal trespass needs entry or remaining with one of the intents in Section 441; no ATC official alleged forcible entry, intimidation, insult or annoyance, and the Airport Director himself was named as an accused, so Section 447 was not attracted. (¶¶ 35, 36)
- Section 448, Indian Penal Code, 1860House-trespass was not made out because the ATC office is not a place used as a human dwelling, for worship or for the custody of goods. (¶ 37)
- Section 12B, Aircraft Act, 1934No court may take cognizance of an offence under the Act except on a complaint by, or with previous written sanction of, the DGCA, the Director General of BCAS or the Director General of AAIB; the Court treated this as a pre-condition for cognizance under an Act that, with its Rules, forms a complete code on civil aviation safety and security. (¶¶ 22, 39, 41)
- Sections 4(2) and 5, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973Offences under other laws are dealt with under the Code subject to any special procedure in the special law, which prevails; hence the special cognizance procedure of the Aircraft Act governs and the police can only forward the material collected to the authorised officer. (¶¶ 40, 41)
- Article 226, Constitution of IndiaThe High Court may quash an FIR under Article 226 or Section 482 of the Code where the allegations, taken at face value, disclose no offence or there is an express legal bar to the proceedings. (¶ 30)
Held
- An FIR may be quashed under Article 226 or Section 482 of the Code where its allegations, accepted in their entirety, do not prima facie disclose an offence, or where an express legal bar exists in the Code or the governing Act to the institution or continuance of the proceedings. (¶ 30)
- Passengers and a pilot asking ATC officials for take-off permission is not undue or illegal pressure, and where the aircraft takes off only after ATC clearance, no rash or negligent act endangering life under Section 336 IPC is made out. (¶ 34)
- Not every trespass is criminal; criminal trespass requires an allegation of one of the intents in Section 441 IPC, and absent any allegation by ATC officials of forcible entry, intimidation, insult or annoyance, Section 447 is not attracted. An ATC office is not a building of the kind covered by house-trespass, so Section 448 does not apply. (¶¶ 35, 36, 37, 38)
- The Aircraft Act, 1934 and the Rules framed under it are a complete code on the safety and security of civil aviation and aerodromes, and Section 12B is a pre-condition for a court taking cognizance; since only an authorised officer can file a complaint, the local police can only forward the material it collected to that officer, who will decide whether to file a complaint. (¶¶ 39, 40, 41)
Result
Appeals by the State of Jharkhand dismissed, with liberty to forward the material collected during investigation within four weeks to the officer authorised under the Aircraft Act, 1934, who will decide in accordance with law whether a complaint should be filed.