Shimla, May 19,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has quashed an FIR registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV\&ACB) against Vinay Aggarwal, a businessman from Panchkula, who was accused of impersonation, extortion, and other criminal offences. The FIR was registered on January 6, 2022, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.
Also read: Accused impersonating as central agencies cop nabbed
The decision came from a single-judge bench of Hon’ble Justice Virender Singh on a petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) by the accused seeking quashing of the FIR. Aggarwal had contended that the allegations against him were baseless and arose from a business dispute that had been settled amicably.
The FIR had alleged that Aggarwal had impersonated an Inspector General of the Intelligence Bureau (IG, IB), moved around with armed Haryana Police personnel, and extorted money from industrialists in Kala Amb and Baddi. The complaint was initiated on the basis of a source report rather than a formal complaint.
Aggarwal, however, submitted that he had never impersonated a central agency officer and held a valid license for the revolver found in his possession during a house search. He further stated that he was the owner of Kalprishi Healthways Private Limited, which had legally taken over RAS Herbal under a tripartite agreement with Punjab National Bank. His visits to Kala Amb and Baddi were related to regular business transactions with various pharmaceutical firms including Symbiosis Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, owned by Jagbir Singh—the main prosecution witness.
According to Aggarwal, the monetary exchanges cited in the FIR, including Rs. 1.41 crores allegedly extorted, were part of longstanding commercial dealings, backed by tax invoices and bank transactions. He maintained that the FIR was lodged maliciously by Jagbir Singh following a dispute, which has since been resolved.
Importantly, in the course of re-investigation, several prosecution witnesses including Jagbir Singh retracted their earlier statements, stating they were given under pressure. Singh even submitted in writing that the monetary dispute had been settled and he no longer wished to pursue the case. Similar statements were submitted by other key witnesses, who confirmed their original testimonies were coerced.
The court took cognizance of these developments and noted that the continuation of criminal proceedings in light of the retractions and settlement would amount to an abuse of the legal process. Justice Virender Singh observed that the case appeared to be a civil dispute over financial transactions that had been given a criminal color.
In his judgment, Justice Singh cited several Supreme Court precedents, including *State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal*, *Naresh Kumar v. State of Karnataka*, and *Indian Oil Corporation v. NEPC India Ltd.*, emphasizing the need to quash proceedings that stem from mala fide intent and abuse of the criminal justice system.
Accordingly, the court ordered the quashing of FIR No. 1/2022 and all related proceedings against Vinay Aggarwal pending before the trial court.
Noteworthy that in February this year, the State police in a press release said that FIR had been lodged on Jan 6, 2022 u/s 170,419,384,386,120-B IPC under police station (CID) Bharari at Shimla against an accused Vinay Aggarwal.
As per the release, on the basis of input it was been revealed that accused Vinay Aggarwal impersonating as IG in the Central Government alongwith his associates had extorted money to the tune of Rs 1.49 Crores. FIR also mentioned that accused ( uniformed) projecting him as IG of armed police along with officials of Haryana Police ( accompanying him illegally) used to visit industrial areas of Kala-Amb, Baddi, Nalagarh and other industrial areas in Himachal.
To complete the investigation of this case on priority, a SIT headed by SP cyber crime Rohit Malpani, SP-EOW, Gaurav Singh, SP CID Crime Virender Kalia, Adl SP Cyber crime Narvir Singh Rathore DSP (CID Crime) Mukesh Kumar and five other cops (2 Inspectors, 2 SIs and 1 ASI) had been constituted by the DGP-HP on Feb 2, 2022. During investigation it was also revealed that this case was just the tip of the iceberg and required thorough investigation.
However now, with quashing of the FIR this ruling has reiterated the judiciary’s role in safeguarding individuals against frivolous or malicious prosecution in cases that fundamentally pertain to civil disputes.
