‘Sprinkling mustard seeds not an offence under Black Magic Act’: Bombay High Court quashes FIR

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has quashed an FIR registered against a 65-year-old man holding that the allegations of sprinkling white mustard outside a neighbour's house do not constitute an offence under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.Justice S G Chapalgaonkar allowed the criminal application filed by Gajanan Shekokar seeking quashing of the FIR registered at Cidco Police Station, Aurangabad, under Section 3(2) of the Act. The FIR was lodged by Subhash Pinjarkar, who alleged that on June 11, 2025, he found white mustard seeds scattered outside his residence in Aurangabad. Based on CCTV footage from a neighbour's camera, a motorcycle allegedly linked to Shekokar was seen passing by the premises. A similar incident was reported at another residence.However, the court noted significant gaps in the prosecution's case. It observed that the statement of the neighbour who owned the CCTV system was neither recorded nor included in the chargesheet. Further, the rider seen in the footage was wearing a helmet, and there was no evidence establishing that the applicant himself was riding the motorcycle. Advocate Sana Raees Khan argued that none of the matters in the offence under Section 3(2) of the Black Magic Act was satisfied. Even if the allegations are taken at face value, sprinkling mustard seeds is not an offence under the Act. Referring to the legal provisions, the court emphasised that offences under the Act require elements such as inducing fear, exploiting individuals, or performing inhuman or black magic practices with malicious intent — none of which were evident in the present case.
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