HC dismisses Khurshid's plea to quash summons in trespass case

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea by former union minister Salman Khurshid seeking to quash a trial court order summoning him as an accused in a trespass case.

Justice R K Gauba said there was abundant material on record and it cannot be said that there are no grounds to proceed against Khurshid and S R Vaish, who seek to assail the August 4, 2018 summoning order.

The high court dismissed the petition of the Congress leader and Vaish seeking to quash the trial court order summoning them as accused for an alleged offence of trespassing into an office of the Delhi Public School Society (DPSS) in south Delhi.

The argument that the summoning order must be set aside only because it does not give detailed reasons ignores the settled law on the subject, the court said.

"Given the abundant material that has been noted earlier, it cannot be said that there are no grounds to proceed against these petitioners who seek to assail the summoning order.

"The summoning order confirms that in taking the view reflected therein, the metropolitan magistrate had taken into consideration the material submitted with the main charge sheet as well as supplementary charge sheet and, thus, there is sufficient indication available on record regarding application of mind. The challenge to the summoning order, thus, cannot be accepted," it said.

The high court allowed the petition of Delhi Police and the complainant seeking to set aside the trial court's order discharging another accused Sharda Nayak in the case.

It directed all the parties, including Khurshid, to appear before the concerned trial court on December 16 for further proceedings.

Khurshid had earlier approached the high court challenging the trial court's January 2018 order summoning him as an accused in the trespass case.

The high court, in May 2018, had set aside the trial court's order and asked it pass a fresh order.

The trial court, on August 4, 2018, passed a fresh order after perusing the main charge sheet and the supplementary charge sheet and took cognisance and summoned Khurshid and another as accused in the case.

They challenged the trial court's order of last year before the high court.

According to the police, the DPS Society had alleged that on March 30, 2015, Khurshid, along with Nayak, had trespassed into the office of the society and the latter had forcibly occupied the office of the Chairman.

"They took control of the premises of the society" and it was in the presence of Khurshid that Nayak announced herself as the society's chairperson, the DPS Society had alleged, adding that Khurshid was part of a "well-planned conspiracy to illegally occupy and take over the premises of the society".

Following the incident, an FIR was also lodged in the matter.

Khurshid had alleged in his plea before the high court that the magistrate had passed the summoning order without application of mind. The plea had said the police had filed a charge sheet in the case in February 2016 exonerating Khurshid, but filed a supplementary charge sheet in December 2017 naming him and five others as accused.

The Congress leader was neither named nor was any role attributed to him in the FIR lodged on March 31, 2015 at Amar Colony police station here, the petition had claimed, adding that he was a life member of the DPS Society on the date of the alleged incident and had the legal right to visit the society premises as a stakeholder.