Prayagraj, July 7 The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a criminal revision petition filed against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in a case challenging the authenticity of his educational degree.
A single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh ruled that the petitioner, Diwakar Nath Tripathi, was neither a victim nor an aggrieved party in the matter, and therefore, lacked the legal standing to seek criminal proceedings.
Tripathi had filed a petition alleging that Maurya had submitted a fake degree to secure a petrol pump allotment and to contest elections. He sought the registration of an FIR and a criminal investigation into the matter.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the High Court reserved the order on May 25, which was finally delivered on Monday.
The case dates back to 2021 when Tripathi approached the district court under Section 156(3) of the CrPC, seeking directions to register an FIR.
He alleged that Maurya had filed false affidavits about his educational qualifications during the 2007, 2012, and 2014 elections, and had used forged documents to obtain petrol pumps from Indian Oil Corporation.
The trial court had rejected his plea on September 4, 2021. The court found that no cognizable offence was found against Maurya. Accordingly, Tripathi’s plea was rejected.
Tripathi then moved the High Court with a criminal revision petition, which was initially dismissed due to a delay of 318 days.
However, on January 6 this year, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s order and directed it to hear the matter on merits.
After hearing the case, the High Court upheld the lower court’s decision, reiterating that only a person directly affected has the right to initiate criminal proceedings in such cases.
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