Allahabad High Court declines to quash Criminal Proceeding against person who allegedly Assaulted GST Raid Team

The Allahabad High Court dismissed an application under section 528 of the BNSS seeking to quash criminal proceedings related to an alleged assault on a GST raid team. In December 2024, a GST team led by Deputy Director Smt Shreya Gupta was allegedly pushed and stopped from doing their work by a large crowd while the two men were not named in the first information report (FIR); their names came up later when the officer gave their official statements.

Issue Of the case

1. Whether the criminal proceedings and the summoning order dated July 11, 2025, should be quashed under Section 528 of the BNSS because the applicants were not named in the initial FIR?

2. Whether the absence of a medical report for injuries negates the allegation of assault or criminal force against a public servant?

3. Whether the veracity of witness statements identifying the applicants should be determined at the initial stage of quashing the petition or during a full trial?

Decision of the Court 

The Allahabad High Court dismissed the application filed by Nasir Rana and another, holding that although the applicants were not named in the FIR, subsequent statements from raid officers clearly implicated them in assaulting the GST raid team.

The court held that even without reported injuries, assault or use of criminal force against public servants is a serious offence, and the reliability of evidence must be tested during trial rather than at the stage of quashing proceedings, so the petition lacked merit and the criminal case will proceed.