Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh High on Tuesday quashed an FIR registered against former Jammu and Kashmir Ranji cricketer Majid Yaqoob Dar in an alleged date-of-birth fraud case, holding that continuation of criminal proceedings without basis would amount to an abuse of the process of law.
Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal passed the judgment while allowing a petition filed by Dar seeking quashment of FIR No. 26/2023 registered by the Crime Branch, Kashmir, on allegations that he had secured registration for the Ranji Trophy by producing a manipulated date-of-birth certificate.
The FIR originated from a complaint lodged in September 2020 by the then Chief Executive Officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), alleging that Dar had shown his date of birth as December 30, 1978 instead of December 30, 1970, and thereby obtained monetary and other benefits fraudulently.
However, during the proceedings, the court was informed that an internal inquiry conducted by the JKCA had found the allegations to be “baseless, false and motivated.” The association’s Sub-Committee concluded that the complaint appeared to have stemmed from internal disputes within the cricket body rather than any genuine criminal misconduct.
The court noted that the JKCA had repeatedly communicated to the Crime Branch that no incriminating material had been found against the former cricketer and recommended closure of the complaint. It was also pointed out before the court that there is no age restriction for participation in the Ranji Trophy and that the remuneration received by Dar was legitimately earned through matches played for the state team.
Interestingly, Brigadier Anil Gupta, Member Administration of JKCA, appeared before the Registrar Judicial on the directions of the court and stated that the Cricket Association did not wish to pursue the prosecution any further and sought closure of the FIR.
The High Court observed that criminal law cannot be used as a tool for harassment or to settle institutional rivalries. “Once the complainant itself, after examining the entire matter through its internal mechanism, has found the allegations to be baseless, unfounded and unsupported by the official record, continuation of criminal proceedings would serve no useful purpose,” the court said.
Relying on the Supreme Court judgments in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal and Mohammad Wajid v. State of U.P., the court reiterated that inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC can be exercised to prevent misuse of the criminal justice system where proceedings are manifestly mala fide or instituted with ulterior motives.
The court further observed that the material on record prima facie indicated that the proceedings had arisen from “internal political considerations” within the JKCA. They did not stem from any actual offence committed by the petitioner.
Consequently, the court quashed the FIR. along with all consequential proceedings against the cricketer and also the preliminary verification conducted by the Crime Branch, Kashmir.
