Bombay High Court refuses relief to ex-MLA for illegally constructing, naming public square after Tipu Sultan

The Bombay High Court at Aurangabad recently refused to quash a first information report (FIR) registered against former AIMIM MLA Farukh Shah for allegedly using government funds to illegally construct a public square in the memory of Tipu Sultan and christen it 'Tipu Sultan Chowk' [Farukh Shah v State of Maharashtra and anr].A Bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Sanjay A Deshmukh held that an MLA cannot unilaterally name a public place in contravention to the procedure established by law. “A public square (chowk), road or place cannot be named by the MLA on his own. There is a procedure under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act as well as Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, wherein the proposal is required to be tabled before the concerned authority i.e. the general body meeting of the elected members and then after the consensus, such place would be named accordingly," the Court said. It also took note of contradictions in Shah's pleadings. It observed that Shah had simultaneously defended the naming of the chowk after Tipu Sultan and claimed innocence about its construction. “Both these acts cannot go together,” the court noted..The FIR against Shah was registered in June 2023 on a complaint by social worker and advocate Rohit Chandole. He alleged that Shah had constructed a raised platform in Dhule and named it after Tipu Sultan, without municipal approval, creating hatred amongst two communities. The complaint further accused Shah of misusing public funds and abusing his position as a sitting MLA. The police booked him under several serious sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including promoting enmity between groups (Section 153A), deliberate acts intended to insult religious beliefs (Section 295A), criminal intimidation (Section 506), and sedition (Section 124A). He is also accused of conspiracy (Section 120B), misappropriation of property (Section 404), and defacing public property under a state law..Shah’s counsel argued that the complaint was politically motivated and filed by a rival affiliated with an opposing party. He claimed that naming a square after Tipu Sultan, a historic figure and freedom fighter, was not unlawful and did not amount to inciting communal disharmony. The defence also pointed to a supplementary statement allegedly made by the complainant months later, suggesting the inclusion of corruption charges, and said this undermined the credibility of the case.Conversely, the prosecution questioned how Shah had obtained a copy of this supplementary statement, which was not officially provided to him. A report from the Sub-Divisional Police Officer submitted to the court confirmed that the statement had not been shared with Shah and that an inquiry had been launched into its alleged leak. The Court also expressed concern over the defence submitting the document as a "true copy" despite no confirmation that it was ever part of the official investigation record.“We deprecate such practice,” the court said, noting that it was improper for a lawyer to submit documents obtained by questionable means. “It is the bounden duty of the Advocate representing such party to consider whether the said document has come to his client by legal means or not,” the Court said..It also took note of material suggesting the construction was carried out under the supervision of Shah's relative. The platform has since been demolished. Further, it noted that the MLA had made no effort to prevent the illegal construction and that there was an ongoing investigation into whether public funds were used for the project. The police also cited allegedly offensive social media posts made by Shah against historical figures like Vinayak Savarkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.Noting that the investigation was still in progress, the bench refused to interfere at the stage..Advocate SS Kazi appeared for Shah.Additional Public Prosecutor AR Kale appeared for the State.Advocate Chetan B Chaud appeared for Chandole..[Read Order]