$~82 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010352462026 + W.P.(CRL) 2317/2026, CRL.M.A. 23466/2026, CRL.M.A. 23467/2026 MOTI SINGH RATHORE .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Asad Iqbal and Mr. Abuzar, Advs. versus THE STATE OF NCT OF DELHI AND ANR .....Respondents Through: Mr. Anand V Khatri, ASC for State SI Ashok, PS.: IGI Airport CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SAURABH BANERJEE O R D E R % 04.08.2026 1. By virtue of the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), the petitioner seeks quashing of FIR No.60/2023 dated 25.01.2023 registered at PS.: I.G.I. Airport, New Delhi under Sections 341/505(1)(b)/507 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). 2. Succinctly put, it is the case of the petitioner that on 25.01.2023, he was travelling on Spice Jet Flight SG-58 from Dubai to Jaipur and due to severe bad weather at Jaipur, the flight was diverted to IGI Airport, New Delhi, causing an unexpected delay of around six hours. Thereafter, since the petitioner is/ was not fluent in English language, he inadvertently and erroneously used the word “high jacked” in a tweet as he was frustrated about the delay whilst tagging the Civil Aviation Minister. The petitioner This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 07/08/2026 at 12:04:17 upon realising his mistake immediately posted clarifying tweets stating that he used the wrong word due to limited English knowledge. 3. In view thereof, learned counsel for petitioner submits that the initial tweet was directed towards the Civil Aviation Minister seeking relief qua the delay and there was no intent to induce public panic as the said tweet was a consequence of the inability of the petitioner to articulate his grievance in English language. More so, it is submitted that since the petitioner herein is a young man with clean antecedents as also there is no possibility of any harm to the others or general public, the present FIR is liable to be quashed. 4. Issue notice. Learned ASC for State accepts notice and submits that he has no objection if the present FIR is quashed. 5. Heard. 6. A bare perusal of the record reveals that there was a delay in the Spice Jet Flight SG-58 from Dubai to Jaipur on 25.01.2023, in which the petitioner was travelling. This led to him posting a tweet “SG 58 Dubai to Jaipur high jacked” wherein he tagged the Civil Aviation Minister @ 01:23 P.M. as well. Realising his mistake, @ 02:22 P.M. he posted a tweet “I apologise that I have mistakenly used high jacked word ”, and then @ 03:20 P.M. he again posted a tweet “Mujhe English kam ati ha galti se high jacked likh diya asal me flight Late ho gai thi or gussa agya”. 7. As held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal; 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, an FIR is liable to be quashed where the allegations therein, even if accepted as true, do not prima facie disclose the commission of any offence or make out a case against the accused, particularly, whence the uncontroverted allegations and material This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 07/08/2026 at 12:04:17 collected during investigation, cumulatively, fails to disclose the commission of any offence or establish a prima facie case against the accused. 8. No doubt, the act of the petitioner may have led to serious repercussions, however, what entails, there was no untoward incident resulting therefrom. However, considering the background of the petitioner, his grasp of English language, and specifically the situation he was under then and more so, since he soon realised his mistake and corrected himself in less than an hour twice over, and that too giving reasons, as also since the petitioner is a young man with clean antecedents, the present is a fit case for quashing the FIR involved. 9. Accordingly, in view of the aforesaid, the present petition is allowed, and FIR No.60/2023 dated 25.01.2023 registered at PS.: I.G.I. Airport, New Delhi under Sections 341/505(1)(b)/507 of the IPC is hereby quashed subject to the petitioner depositing costs of Rs.30,000/- (Rupees Thirty Thousand Only) to Delhi High Court Staff Welfare Fund [A/C 15530110074442; IFSC UCBA0001553] within a period of two weeks. 10. Needless to say, the petitioner shall also furnish proof thereof before the Registry within a period of one week from the date of such payment. 11. As such, the present petition, alongwith the pending applications, is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. SAURABH BANERJEE, J. AUGUST 4, 2026/bh This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 07/08/2026 at 12:04:17