Research › Search › Judgment

Punjab High Court · body

2010 DIGILAW 670 (PNJ)

Nirmal Singh v. State Of Punjab

2010-01-27

SABINA

body2010
Judgment SABINA, J. 1. Petitioners have filed this petition under Sec.482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing FIR No.167 dated 10.9.2009 (Annexure P-1), under Sections 406, 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (ipc for short), registered at Police Station Sadar Ludhiana and subsequent proceedings arising therefrom in view of the compromise dated 22.12.2009 (Annexure P-2) arrived at between the parties. 2. Learned senior counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the parties have arrived at a compromise with the intervention of the relatives and respectables of the area. The jewellry articles as well as Rs.4,60,000/- towards lump sum maintenance etc. have been handed over to respondent No.2. Now the parties have been granted a decree of divorce on 20.1.2010 by the Additional District Judge, Ludhiana. 3. Respondent No.2, who is present in Court in person along with her father and her counsel, has admitted the contents of the compromise Annexure p-2 and the grant of decree of divorce. The jewellery articles and rs.2,30,000/- were handed over to respondent No.2 in the Court on the last date of hearing. Respondent No.2 has admitted the receipt of Rs.4,60,000/- in all towards lump sum maintenance etc. from the petitioners. She has further submitted that she has no objection in case the FIR is ordered to be quashed. 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. 4. Honble 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. 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? 24. On an overall view of the facts as indicated hereinabove and keeping in mind the decision of this Court in B. S. Joshis 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 these proceedings to continue. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed. FIR No.167 dated 10.9.2009 (Annexure P-1), under Sections 406, 498-A IPC, registered at Police Station Sadar Ludhiana , and all the subsequent proceedings qua the petitioners, arising therefrom, are quashed.