Madras High Court Quashes FIR Against Men Who Questioned Police Inquiry, Says Criminal Law Cannot Be Used to Silence Citizens

The Madras High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against two men accused of abusing, obstructing and threatening a police officer, holding that merely questioning the legality of police action does not constitute a criminal offence unless the essential ingredients of the alleged offences are clearly established. The Court emphasised that criminal law cannot be invoked to suppress citizens who seek accountability from public authorities.

The case arose from an FIR registered against Thomas @ Dhamas and Lingabalan under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including obscenity, wrongful restraint, obstruction of a public servant and criminal intimidation. According to the prosecution, the accused had abused a police officer in obscene language, restrained him from performing his duties and threatened him with consequences while he was discharging official functions.

The petitioners, however, contended that they had been questioned by police in connection with a theft investigation after attending New Year prayers at a church in Paramakudi. They alleged that one of them was taken from his residence without any formal notice or summons and that the criminal case was subsequently registered because they questioned the manner in which the police inquiry was conducted.

Justice L. Victoria Gowri found that the allegations in the FIR and final report were vague and lacked essential particulars. The Court noted that the prosecution had failed to specify the allegedly obscene words, describe how the police officer was restrained, or identify any act amounting to assault or criminal force. Similarly, the allegation of criminal intimidation was unsupported by details of any specific threat or resulting alarm.

Observing that public servants deserve protection while performing lawful duties but that criminal charges must be supported by concrete facts, the Court held that the prosecution had been initiated mechanically. Finding the proceedings to be an abuse of the legal process, the Court quashed the case and reaffirmed that questioning police conduct, by itself, cannot attract criminal liability.