Punjab-Haryana High Court
Davinder Singh vs State Of Haryana And Another on 16 March, 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
252 CRM-M-5332-2022
Date of decision :16.03.2022
Davinder Singh .........Petitioners
VERSUS
State of Haryana and Another ..........Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINOD S. BHARDWAJ
Present:- Mr. G. S. Sidhu, Advocate, for the petitioners.
Mr. Zorawar Singh Chauhan, DAG, Haryana.
Mr. Ajay Kamboj, Advocate, for the respondent No.2/complainant.
*****
VINOD S. BHARDWAJ, J. (Oral)
By means of the instant petition, the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been invoked seeking quashing of FIR No.947 dated 20.09.2018 for the offence under Sections 420, 467, 471, 120-B IPC registered at Police Station Sirsa City, District Sirsa (Annexure P-1) and all other consequential proceedings arising therefrom, on the basis of compromise dated 10.01.2022 (Annexure P-2) entered between the parties. 2 Vide order dated 09.02.2022 of this Court, the parties were directed to appear before the learned trial Court/Illaqa Magistrate on 17.02.2022 to get their statements recorded regarding the compromise arrived at between the parties and a report in this regard was called for.
3. In compliance of the said order, report has been received from the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sirsa vide memo No.145 dated 22.02.2022. The relevant extract of the same is as under:
"...................Accused/petitioners Devinder Singh and respondent/complainant Somal appeared in person. Complainant 1 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:19 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 2 Somal has stated that he has received full and final payment from accused Davinder Singh and they have settled their dispute and on the basis of compromise, he does not want to proceed against the accused and he has no objection to quash the present FIR and subsequent proceedings qua this FIR. The accused/petitioner Davinder Singh also made a statement that he had paid the amount to complainant and no payment is due and matter has been compromised and he is not a P.O. in this case or other. He has tendered an affidavit that no other than case is pending against him and he was never declared P.O. They have further stated that the matter has been compromised without any pressure, coercion, inducement, rather it has been settled amicably and they have no objection if FIR in question is quashed. From the statements as well as oral examination by this Court, this is of the opinion that the matter in question has been compromised between the parties without any fear, coercion, inducement or threat. Further, as per directions of Hon'ble High Court requisite information is as follows:
(i) As per challan by the police, there is one accused in this FIR.
(ii) The accused is not proclaimed offender in this case.
(iii) The case is at the stage of arguments on the point of charge.
(iv) The Compromise of parties is voluntarily and free will."
4. Learned State counsel does not dispute the factum of the compromise amongst the parties and does not have any serious objection to the resolution of the dispute amongst the parties.
5. Mr. Ajay Kamboj, Advocate appears on behalf of respondent No.2 and reiterates the settlement and his concurrence to the FIR and all the other consequential proceeding being quashed.
6. The Full Bench of this Court in the matter of "Kulwinder Singh and others versus State of Punjab and another" reported as (Punjab 2 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:20 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 3 and Haryana High Court) : 2007 (3) RCR (Criminal) 1052 has been observed as under:
(28) To conclude, it can safely be said that there can never be any hard and fast category which can be prescribed to enable the Court to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. The only principle that can be laid down is the one which has been incorporated in the Section itself, i.e., "to prevent abuse of the process of any Court" or "to secure the ends of justice".
(29) In Mrs. Shakuntala Sawhney v. Mrs. Kaushalya Sawhney and Ors., Hon'ble Krishna Iyer, J. aptly summoned up the essence of compromise in the following words:
"The finest hour of justice arrives propitiously when parties, despite falling apart, bury the hatchet and weave a sense of fellowship of reunion."
(30) The power to do complete justice is the very essence of every judicial justice dispensation system. It cannot be diluted by distorted perceptions and is not a slave to anything, except to the caution and circumspection, the standards of which the Court sets before it, in exercise of such plenary and unfettered power inherently vested in it while donning the cloak of compassion to achieve the ends of justice.
(31) No embargo, be in the shape of Section 320(9) of the Cr.P.C., or any other such curtailment, can whittle down the power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.
(32) The compromise, in a modern society, is the sine qua non of harmony and orderly behaviour. It is the soul of justice and if the power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. is used to enhance such a compromise which, in turn, enhances the social amity and reduces friction, then it truly is "finest hour of justice". Disputes which have their genesis in a matrimonial discord, landlord-tenant matters, commercial transactions and other such matters can safely be dealt with by 3 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:20 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 4 the Court by exercising its powers under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. in the event of a compromise, but this is not to say that the power is limited to such cases. There can never be any such rigid rule to prescribe the exercise of such power, especially in the absence of any premonitions to forecast and predict eventualities which the cause of justice may throw up during the course of a litigation.
(33) The only inevitable conclusion from the above discussion is that there is no statutory bar under the Cr.P.C. which can affect the inherent power of this Court under Section
482. Further, the same cannot be limited to matrimonial cases alone and the Court has the wide power to quash the proceedings even in non-compoundable offences notwithstanding the bar under Section 320 of the Cr.P.C., in order to prevent the abuse of law and to secure the ends of justice.
(34) The power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. is to be exercised Ex-Debitia Justitia to prevent an abuse of process of Court. There can neither be an exhaustive list nor the defined para-meters to enable a High Court to invoke or exercise its inherent powers. It will always depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. The power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. has no limits. However, the High Court will exercise it sparingly and with utmost care and caution. The exercise of power has to be with circumspection and restraint. The Court is a vital and an extra-ordinary effective instrument to maintain and control social order. The Courts play role of paramount importance in achieving peace, harmony and ever- lasting congeniality in society. Resolution of a dispute by way of a compromise between two warring groups, therefore, should attract the immediate and prompt attention of a Court which should endeavour to give full effect to the same unless such compromise is abhorrent to lawful composition of the society or would promote savagery.
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7. The legal principles as laid down for quashing of the judgment were also approved by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of 'Gian Singh Versus State of Punjab and another,(2012)10 SCC303'. Still further, the broad principles for exercising the powers under Section 482 were summarized by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of 'Parbatbhai Aahir @ Parbatbhai Bhimsinhbhai Karmur and others verus State of Gujarat and another" (2017) 9 SCC 641', the same are extracted as under:
16. The broad principles which emerge from the precedents on the subject, may be summarised in the following propositions :
16.1 Section 482 preserves the inherent powers of the High Court to prevent an abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice. The provision does not confer new powers. It only recognizes and preserves powers which inhere in the High Court;
16.2 The invocation of the jurisdiction of the High Court to quash a First Information Report or a criminal proceeding on the ground that a settlement has been arrived at between the offender and the victim is not the same as the invocation of jurisdiction for the purpose of compounding an offence. While compounding an offence, the power of the court is governed by the provisions of Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The power to quash under Section 482 is attracted even if the offence is non-compoundable.
16.3 In forming an opinion whether a criminal proceeding or complaint should be quashed in exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 482, the High Court must evaluate whether the ends of justice would justify the exercise of the inherent power;
16.4 While the inherent power of the High Court has a wide ambit and plenitude it has to be exercised; (i) to secure 5 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:20 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 6 the ends of justice or (ii) to prevent an abuse of the process of any court;
16.5 The decision as to whether a complaint or First Information Report should be quashed on the ground that the offender and victim have settled the dispute, revolves ultimately on the facts and circumstances of each case and no exhaustive elaboration of principles can be formulated;
16.6 In the exercise of the power under Section 482 and while dealing with a plea that the dispute has been settled, the High Court must have due regard to the nature and gravity of the offence. Heinous and serious offences involving mental depravity or offences such as murder, rape and dacoity cannot appropriately be quashed though the victim or the family of the victim have settled the dispute. Such offences are, truly speaking, not private in nature but have a serious impact upon society. The decision to continue with the trial in such cases is founded on the overriding element of public interest in punishing persons for serious offences;
16.7 As distinguished from serious offences, there may be criminal cases which have an overwhelming or predominant element of a civil dispute. They stand on a distinct footing in so far as the exercise of the inherent power to quash is concerned;
16.8 Criminal cases involving offences which arise from commercial, financial, mercantile, partnership or similar transactions with an essentially civil flavour may in appropriate situations fall for quashing where parties have settled the dispute;
16.9 In such a case, the High Court may quash the criminal proceeding if in view of the compromise between the disputants, the possibility of a conviction is remote and the continuation of a criminal proceeding would cause oppression and prejudice; and 16.10 There is yet an exception to the principle set out 6 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:20 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 7 in propositions 16.8 and 16.9 above. Economic offences involving the financial and economic well-being of the state have implications which lie beyond the domain of a mere dispute between private disputants. The High Court would be justified in declining to quash where the offender is involved in an activity akin to a financial or economic fraud or misdemeanour. The consequences of the act complained of upon the financial or economic system will weigh in the balance.
8. It is evident that in view of the amicable resolution of the issues amongst the parties, no useful purpose would be served by continuation of the proceedings. The furtherance of the proceedings is likely to be a waste of judicial time and there appears to be no chances of conviction.
9. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has held in the matter of 'Ramgopal And Another Vs State of Madhya Pradesh, 2021 SCC Online SC 834', that the matters which can be categorized as personal in nature or in the matter in which the nature of injuries do not exhibit mental depravity or commission of an offence of such a serious nature that quashing of which would override public interest, the Court can quash the FIR in view of the settlement arrived at amongst the parties. The observation of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is extracted as under:-
19. We thus sum-up and hold that as opposed to Section 320 Cr.P.C. where the Court is squarely guided by the compromise between the parties in respect of offences 'compoundable' within the statutory framework, the extra-
ordinary power enjoined upon a High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. or vested in this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, can be invoked beyond the metes and bounds of Section 320 Cr.P.C. Nonetheless, we reiterate that such powers of wide amplitude ought to be exercised carefully in the context 7 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:20 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 8 of quashing criminal proceedings, bearing in mind: (i) Nature and effect of the offence on the conscious of the society; (ii) Seriousness of the injury, if any; (iii) Voluntary nature of compromise between the accused and the victim; & (iv) Conduct of the accused persons, prior to and after the occurrence of the purported offence and/or other relevant considerations.
10. A perusal of the FIR shows that the dispute pertains to the petitioner alluring the complainant to arrange a visa for the complainant to enable him to go to Cyprus (Europe). It is contended that on the assurance of the petitioner, a sum of Rs.50,000/- was initially paid on 22.08.2018 and thereafter a further sum of Rs. 4,20,000/- was paid on 24.08.2018. Apart from this an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- is also stated to have been paid for purchase of ticket. Apparently it appears that the payment in question had been advanced by the complainant to the petitioner on the pretext to send himself abroad. The same is a monetary dispute amongst the parties which is a private dispute relating to the property. The said dispute cannot be said to be shocking to the conscience of the Court and to the society and cannot be construed as causing mental depravity to the complainant. The nature of the offence does not outweigh the public interest and there is no reason how continuation of the proceedings, despite amicable resolution of the issue amongst the parties, would advance the interest of justice. The parties have chosen to end their ordeal and the petitioner-accused has already made good payment due to the complaint and as such, no purpose would be served by keeping the matter alive and directing the parties to undergo their rigors of criminal prosecution.
11. In view of the report of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, 8 of 9 ::: Downloaded on - 01-05-2022 02:33:20 ::: CRM-M-5332-2022 9 Sirsa and the principles laid down by the Apex Court in Gian Singh Vs. State of Punjab and others (2012) 10 SCC 303, as well as Ramgopal And Another Vs State of Madhya Pradesh 2021 SCC Online SC 834 and also by the Full Bench of this Court in Kulwinder Singh and others Vs. State of Punjab and another, 2007(3) RCR (Criminal) 1052, the instant petition is allowed. The aforesaid FIR No.947 dated 20.09.2018 for the offence under Sections 420, 467, 471, 120-B IPC registered at Police Station Sirsa City, District Sirsa (Annexure P-1) and all other consequential proceedings arising therefrom are hereby quashed in view of compromise dated 10.01.2022 (Annexure P-2). However, the same would be subject to payment of costs of Rs. 20,000/- to be deposited with the 'Poor Patients Welfare Fund' of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, within one month from today.
Petition is allowed.
(VINOD S. BHARDWAJ)
16.03.2022 JUDGE
anil
Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes/No
Whether reportable Yes/No
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