Delhi High Court refuses to quash FIR against man booked for collecting donations using name and pic of PM Modi

The Delhi High Court recently refused to quash the First Information Report (FIR) against a man booked for running a charitable trust in the name of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi [Pawan Pandey vs State of NCT of Delhi]..Justice Amit Mahajan said there were specific allegations against the accused Pawan Pandey that he had used the PM’s surname and picture while collecting donations for his non-governmental organisation (NGO) - Modi Charitable Trust.The allegations were that Pandey had dishonestly induced people to deliver the property in the form of donations and therefore the FIR disclosed commission of cognizable offences, the single-judge concluded.“The picture of the Hon’ble Prime Minister has also been used whereas admittedly, the petitioner’s surname is not ‘MODI’. The advertisements have been broadcasted on YouTube and other National News channels with the picture of the Hon’ble Prime Minister,” the Court noted..Pandey was booked by Delhi Police Special Cell last year on a complaint made by the Ministry of Home Affairs that he was using PM Modi’s picture in an advertisement broadcast on a national news channel. He was arrested in February this year and granted bail a few days later. Seeking quashing of the FIR, his counsel before the High Court argued that ‘Modi Charitable Trust’ was registered with different social objectives and that the complaint did not disclose any criminal offence..On the contrary, the prosecution alleged that Pandey had cheated and dishonestly induced the public by running an NGO in the Prime Minister’s name. It was also submitted that his surname Pandey was not in any way connected with the surname ‘Modi’.Finding that the FIR disclosed cognizable offences, the Court said the police have a statutory right and duty to investigate the allegations.“The investigation is at a nascent stage and the Court while exercising power under Section 482 of the CrPC ought not to thwart an investigation,” the Court added..It further said that when the allegations discloses cognizable offence, the matter need not be considered on merits. Therefore, it dismissed the petition.Advocates Shivam Sharma and Ranjeet Kumar represented the petitionerAdditional Standing Counsel Amol Sinha and advocates Kshitiz Garg, Ashvini Kumar & Chavi Lazarus represented the Special Cell[Read Judgment]