Punjab-Haryana High Court
Daler Singh And Another vs State Of Punjab And Another on 29 August, 2012
Author: Sabina
Bench: Sabina
Crl. Misc. No. M-23093 of 2012 (O&M) -1 -
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH.
Crl. Misc. No. M-23093 of 2012 (O&M)
Date of Decision: 29.8.2012.
Daler Singh and another ........Petitioner
Vs.
State of Punjab and another ......Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SABINA
Present: Mr. J.P.Sharma, Advocate
for the petitioners.
Mr. Amandeep Singh Rai, DAG, Punjab.
Respondent No.2 in person with
Mr. A.S.Khinda, Advocate.
.....
SABINA, J.
Petitioners have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('Cr.P.C.' for short) for quashing of the FIR No. 143 dated 30.5.2012 (Annexure P-1), under Section 420, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code ('IPC' for short) registered at Police Station City Ferozepur, District Ferozepur and all the consequential proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise dated 18.7.2012 (Annexure P-2) arrived at between the parties.
Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that now with the intervention of relatives and friends parties have arrived at a compromise. There was money dispute between the parties and now the amount in question has been paid to respondent No.2.
Respondent No.2 is present in person along with his counsel and has admitted the factum of compromise between the Crl. Misc. No. M-23093 of 2012 (O&M) -2 - parties and has stated that he has received the amount in question and has no objection if the FIR in question is ordered to be quashed. He has tendered his affidavit in this regard.
As per the Full Bench judgment of this Court in Kulwinder Singh and others vs. State of Punjab, 2007 (3) RCR (Criminal) 1052, High Court has power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to allow the compounding of non-compoundable offence and quash the prosecution where the High Court felt that the same was required to prevent the abuse of the process of any Court or to otherwise secure the ends of justice. This power of quashing is not confined to matrimonial disputes alone.
Hon'ble the Apex Court in the case of Nikhil Merchant vs. Central bureau of Investigation and another JT 2008 (9) SC 192 in para Nos. 23 and 24 has held as under:-
"23. In the instant case, the disputes between the Company and the Bank have been set at rest on the basis of the compromise arrived at by them whereunder the dues of the Bank have been cleared and the Bank does not appear to have any further claim against the Company. What, however, remains is the fact that certain documents were alleged to have been created by the appellant herein in order to avail of credit facilities beyond the limit to which the Company was entitled. The dispute involved herein has overtones of a civil dispute with certain criminal facets. The question which is required to be answered in this case is whether the power which independently lies with this court to quash the criminal Crl. Misc. No. M-23093 of 2012 (O&M) -3 - proceedings pursuant to the compromise arrived at, should at all be exercised?
24.On an overall view of the facts as indicated hereinabove and keeping in mind the decision of this Court in B.S.Joshi's case (supra) and the compromise arrived at between the Company and the Bank as also clause 11 of the consent terms filed in the suit filled by the Bank, we are satisfied that this is a fit case where technicality should not be allowed to stand in the way in the quashing of the criminal proceedings, since, in our view, the continuance of the same after the compromise arrived at between the parties would be a futile exercise."
Since the parties have arrived at a compromise and have decided to live in peace, no useful purpose would be served in allowing the criminal proceedings to continue.
Accordingly, this petition is allowed. FIR No. 143 dated 30.5.2012 (Annexure P-1), under Section 420, 120-B IPC registered at Police Station City Ferozepur, District Ferozepur and all the consequential proceedings, arising therefrom, are quashed.
(SABINA) JUDGE August 29, 2012 Gurpreet