Bombay High Court disinclined to quash complaint against NCP leader Jitendra Awhad

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed reluctance to quash an FIR registered against NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader and former Maharashtra cabinet minister Jitendra Awhad, despite a request filed with the complainant’s consent.

The plea to quash the FIR was submitted with the consent of the complainant, Mahesh Aher, an Assistant Commissioner in the Encroachment and Eviction Department of Thane Municipal Corporation.

A bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Neela Gokhale stated, “How can a public servant give consent to quash an FIR? We will not permit this.” However, Awhad’s lawyer requested that the plea be scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, which the bench agreed to.

The FIR, dated February 15, 2023, was filed after Aher was threatened outside his office. The complaint was registered after an audio clip, allegedly featuring Aher threatening to kill Awhad’s daughter and son-in-law, went viral. In response, Awhad and his supporters allegedly attacked Aher.

Aher then claimed Awhad’s supporters surrounded and assaulted him in the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters’ parking area. The FIR against Awhad and several others includes charges under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 353 (assaulting public servant), 332 (deterring public servant from duty), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation), 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting), and 149 (unlawful assembly for common object).

Awhad was arrested and granted bail on March 3, 2023.

A year later, he approached the court seeking quashing of the FIR with Aher’s consent. Aher filed an affidavit stating that the FIR resulted from a misunderstanding, which has since been resolved, and expressed no interest in continuing the prosecution against Awhad.