Courtesy/News Source: indianexpress.com

The district court of Chandigarh acquitted a 67 year-old hotelier of charges of disobeying the order of District Magistrate (DM).

The accused, Ghanshyam Das, a resident of Milk Colony, Sarangpur, Chandigarh, has been acquitted by the Court of Sachin Kumar Tyagi, JMIC (Judicial Magistrate

First Class), of Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.

As per the Prosecution, Ghanshyam Das had given PG rooms to some persons without entering their details in the register in violation of the orders of the District Magistrate, Chandigarh.

Head Constable Surinder Pal Singh, had complained that during patrolling in Sarangpur area, a police team inspected Ghanshyam Complex.

When the head constable asked Ganshyam about nearly 100 PG rooms, he replied that some rooms are given on rent whereas others are vacant.

During inspection, the police found two couples in two rooms.

When asked if they had given their IDs and rent, they told the police that they had given only Rs 300 as rent. On checking the register, the police did not find any entry or ID proof of the couples. Accordingly, a case under Section 188 of the IPC was registered against Ghanshyam Das on July 28, 2018.

During the trial, defence counsel Advocate Rajesh Sharma argued that the registration of an FIR for an offence under Section 188 of the IPC was barred by the provision of Section 195(1) of CrPC. The complainant was also the investigation officer of the case and there were discrepancies in the way search was conducted and registration of the FIR, he argued.

Defence counsel Advocate Rajesh Sharma also submitted that the case could only be instituted upon the complaint before the magistrate by the officer concerned who had issued such order under Section 144 of CrPC, but in the present case, the police itself registered the FIR.

After the Prosecution could not prove the allegations, the court acquitted the accused from the charges.

For latest coverage on Haryana and Maharashtra Elections, log on to IndianExpress.com. We bring you the fastest assembly election 2019 updates from each constituency in both the states.