Allahabad HC dismisses plea seeking quashing of FIR in Shahberi land case

Allahabad High Court has dismissed a plea seeking quashing of FIR in a land case and asked the petitioner to deposit Rs five lakh for deliberate concealment of facts.

The petition was filed by Mahesh Chand Sharma to quash the FIR under Sections 188, 288, 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC, Section 26 of the U.P. Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 (Amendment, 1997), Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of the Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, at the Police Station Bisrakh, District Gautam Budha Nagar.

The matter pertains to land situated in village Shahberi, Gautam Budh Nagar, in which land was purchased by a firm Suraj Associates in which Sharma was a partner.

"The Uttar Pradesh State Government had issued notifications under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 dated 10.6.2009 and 9.11.2009 for planned industrial development through Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, which included the plots in question," the court order said.

The petitioner said after the village was de-notified, he as well as other persons started developing the lands purchased by them.

"From a careful perusal of the record, it is more than evident that the lands in question, subject matter of dispute, with respect to which the first information report dated 14.8.2019 had been lodged by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, is subject matter of acquisition under the notifications issued in the year 2013 and 2014 as noted above," read the court order.