Congress Lok Sabha candidate against ML Khattar moves Punjab and Haryana High Court to quash FIR

Youth Congress leader Divyanshu Budhiraja, who is the party’s candidate for Karnal Lok Sabha seat, has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court for quashing a case registered against him for his alleged failure to appear before the trial court in a criminal case..The matter is likely to be mentioned on April 29 for urgent hearing as Budhiraja has prayed for stay on the First Information Report (FIR) registered under Section 174A of Indian Penal Code and protection from arrest by the Police.Budhiraja is the Haryana Youth Congress President and the party's candidate against former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manohar Lal Khattar.In December 2023, Budhiraja had been declared as a proclaimed offender by the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Panchkula in a 2018 case under The Haryana Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. Following the trial order, he was booked under Section 174A of IPC..Stating that he had been granted bail by the trial court in the 2018 case that year itself, the Congress leader has said that the CJM in 2022 had dismissed his application for exemption from personal appearance in an arbitrary manner and later also issued non-bailable warrants against him.After the warrants were returned unexecuted as Budhiraja was not residing at the given address, a proclamation was issued against him, the plea states.When he later moved an application for cancellation of the warrant of arrest, the same was dismissed on the ground that he had not been present before the court.“That on 15.12.2023 the Court gave a finding that the proclamation issued against the present petitioner was received back duly executed. The petitioner was declared proclaimed person and the intimation was sent to the concerned court. Copy of the order was sent to the police station Sector 14, Panchkula and the present FIR was registered on the basis of order dated 15.12.2023,” the petition states further..Budhiraja has argued that the warrant of arrest in 2018 case, which is baliable in nature, had been issued directly without first issuing bailable warrants.Further, he has challenged the procedure followed in registration of case against him.“After declaring the petitioner a proclaimed person, if at all the learned Magistrate had desired and decided to proceed against the petitioner for an offence under Section 174A of IPC, the prescribed course for her was to institute a complaint in writing in the competent jurisdictional Court. Instead of that, the learned trial Court adopted a short but wrong cut and just sent a copy of her orders to the local police for initiation of proceedings under Section 174A against the petitioner (obviously by registration of an FIR) vide order dated 15.12.2023,” the plea states. .Thus, Budhiraja has sought quashing of the FIR and stay on further proceedings during the pendency of the petition.Advocates Partap Singh and Harpreet Singh Multani are representing the petitioner.