Raipur
Chhattisgarh High Court has granted relief to IPS Officer G P Singh by staying the FIR against him related to an alleged extortion case. Singh had petitioned the High Court to quash the trial based on an FIR filed against him at the Supela police station in Bhilai.
The origins of the case trace back to a dispute in 2015 between Durg resident Kamal Sen and builder Singhania over a commercial transaction. During this disagreement, Singhania purportedly mentioned IPS GP Singh while threatening Sen, though there was no direct conversation between Singh and Sen.
Six years later, in 2021, Kamal Sen filed an FIR at the Supela Police station in Bhilai, accusing G P Singh of demanding Rs 20 lakh from him and issuing threats. Subsequently, a case of intimidation was registered against Singh at the Supela police station, leading to a chargesheet being filed in the Durg court.
To challenge this FIR, IPS Singh filed a petition in the High Court. The Division Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rajani Dubey, considered the case. The Court noted the significant lapse in time between the incident and the filing of the complaint and highlighted the absence of mandatory permission under Section 197 to initiate a criminal case against a public servant.
Consequently, the Court ruled to stay further criminal proceedings against Singh as per the impugned FIR until the next date of hearing in July.
