High Court Upholds Faith in Public Servants by Refusing to Quash FIR Against Social Worker

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition by social worker Ajit Kulkarni seeking to quash an FIR for extortion and defamation against a former tehsildar. The court underscored the importance of maintaining public faith in public servants and condemned the use of threats and defamatory tactics against them.

The Bombay High Court has made it clear that it will not tolerate any erosion of public trust in public servants, refusing to quash an FIR against social worker Ajit Kulkarni for extortion and defamation. A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale delivered the judgment on July 1, which became publicly available on Saturday.

The FIR, registered in December 2022, was filed by former tehsildar Prashant Bedase. Bedase accused Kulkarni of using criminal force and defamation to deter him from fulfilling his duties. The court emphasized that Kulkarni's aggressive and menacing threats against a public servant constituted serious obstruction of official work.

The bench further criticized the emerging trend of using modern technologies for criminal activities, noting that Kulkarni's intimidation via social media fits the broad interpretation of 'criminal force.' The court's decision underscores the necessity of protecting the integrity and reputation of public officers to ensure the proper function of governance.