Punjab-Haryana High Court
Sajjan Singh And Others vs State Of Punjab And Another on 13 February, 2009
Author: Sabina
Bench: Sabina
In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh
Crl. Misc. No. M-27710 of 2008
Date of Decision:February 13, 2009
Sajjan Singh and others
---Petitioners
versus
State of Punjab and another
---Respondents
Coram: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SABINA
***
Present: Mr. Veneet Sharma,Advocate,
for the petitioners
Mr. Aman Deep Singh Rai, AAG, Punjab
Mr.Deepak Aggarwal, Advocate,
for respondent No. 2
***
SABINA, J.
Petitioners have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'Cr.P.C.')for quashing of FIR No. 114 dated 19.6.2008 under Sections 326, 323, 324, 148, 149 of the Indian Penal Code registered at Police Station, Lopoke District Amritsar (Rural) and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that it is a case of cross version. Now, with the intervention of relatives and friends, parties have arrived at a compromise. Photo copies of affidavits of injured, Ranjit Singh,Rachhpal Singh Gurmukh Singh, Joginder Singh and Balwinder Crl. Misc. No. M-27710 of 2008 -2- Singh have been placed on record. A perusal of affidavit of Ranjit Singh(in original) reveals that on 18.6.2008 a quarrel had occurred. Now with the intervention of the of the panchayat and respectabes, compromise has been entered into between the parties and he did not want to proceed with the FIR, in question. To the similar effect are the affidavits of injured Rachhpal Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Joginder Singh and Balwinder Singh 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 paras 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 Crl. Misc. No. M-27710 of 2008 -3- 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 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, no useful purpose would be served by continuing the criminal proceedings, in question.
Accordingly, the present petition is allowed. FIR No. 114 dated 19.6.2008 under Sections 326, 323, 324, 148, 149 of the Indian Penal Code registered at Police Station, Lopoke District Amritsar and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom are quashed.
(SABINA) JUDGE February 13, 2009 PARAMJIT