Punjab-Haryana High Court
Mohd.Anwar Shah And Others vs State Of Punjab And Another on 16 April, 2009
Author: Sabina
Bench: Sabina
Crl.Misc. M No.7235 of 2009 1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH
Crl. Misc. M No. 7235 of 2009
Date of Decision:April 16, 2009
Mohd.Anwar Shah and others ...........Petitioners
Versus
State of Punjab and another ..........Respondents
Coram: Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Sabina
Present: Mr.G.N.Malik Advocate
for the petitioners.
Mr.Amandeep Singh Rai,Assistant Advocate
General, Punjab
Mr.Ram Bilas Gupta Advocate for respondent No.2
**
Sabina, J.
Petitioners have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of FIR No. 46 dated 19.2.2009 under Sections 323, 342, 506, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (`IPC' for short) and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (`the Act' for short) registered at Police Station Malerkotla, District Sangrur (Annexure P1) and consequential proceedings arising out of the said FIR .
Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the injured in this case is a minor and is the adopted daughter of petitioner No.1. Complainant is the natural father of the injured. Learned counsel for the petitioners has further submitted that now parties with the intervention of relatives and friends have arrived at a compromise.
Respondent No.2 , who is present in person along with his Crl.Misc. M No.7235 of 2009 2 counsel has admitted the contents of the compromise (Annexure P2), wherein, he has no objection, if the FIR in question is cancelled.
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 proceedings pursuant to the compromise arrived at, should at all be exercised?Crl.Misc. M No.7235 of 2009 3
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, in order to live in peace, no useful purpose would be served by proceeding further with the criminal proceedings.
Accordingly, this petition is allowed. FIR No. 46 dated 19.2.2009 registered at Police Station Malerkotla, District Sangrur under Sections 323, 342, 506,34 IPC and Section 23 of the Act (Anneuxre P1) and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom,are quashed .
( Sabina ) Judge April 16, 2009 arya