Supreme Court has invalidated a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against IH Syed, a former Assistant Solicitor General and Senior Advocate, in a case involving allegations of extortion, wrongful confinement, and other offenses. The case was titled IH Syed v. State of Gujarat.

A two-judge bench comprised of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra delivered the verdict, overturning the previous decision of the Gujarat High Court dated June 2, 2022, which had rejected the plea to dismiss the complaint against Syed.

Upon meticulous scrutiny of the submitted affidavit, the Supreme Court highlighted that the complainant had inadvertently implicated Syed due to a misunderstanding. Realizing this error, the complainant chose to withdraw the allegations against the respected senior lawyer.

Taking this newfound information into careful consideration, the Supreme Court concluded that maintaining the FIR against Syed would be inappropriate given the circumstances, deeming further legal action unnecessary. Consequently, the court ordered the nullification of the contested order.

The legal journey leading to this verdict had several twists. In the preceding year's May, a sessions court had denied Syed's request for anticipatory bail. On June 2, the Gujarat High Court had similarly rejected the plea to quash the complaint.

Subsequently, Syed moved an application in the High Court seeking protection from potential arrest on a range of charges, including extortion, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, causing hurt, intentional insult, criminal intimidation, and wrongful confinement.

On June 13 of the same year, the High Court granted anticipatory bail to Syed, observing that the case seemed to be an effort to tarnish his reputation or cause embarrassment, exploiting his vulnerability.

According to the prosecution's claims, Syed and his co-accused allegedly coerced the complainant into signing a disadvantageous agreement. Upon the complainant's refusal, they purportedly subjected him to verbal abuse. Additionally, it was alleged that the complainant's family faced threats, and he was intimidated with baseless suggestions of a rape case.

In the legal battle that ensued, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmedi, along with a team of accomplished Advocates including Devvrat, Abid Ali Beeran P, Aniq Kadri, and Sarath S Janardanan, represented Syed. Conversely, Advocates Swati Ghildiyal, Deepanwita Priyanka, Devyani Bhatt, and Ishaan George appeared on behalf of the respondent.

Case Title: Iqbal Hasanali Syed v. The State of Gujarat & Another