Allowed

Jaswinder Singh and Ors. v. State of Punjab and Anr.

Punjab & Haryana HC19 Mar 2010CRM-M/2710/2010

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This petition sought to quash an FIR in a non-compoundable offence regarding a personal land dispute. The Court allowed the petition, relying on the parties' compromise and citing precedents supporting the quashing of proceedings in personal disputes to promote social amity.

What did the court decide?

FIR No.191 dated 1.10.2004 and all subsequent proceedings were quashed.

Jaswinder Singh and Ors. Vs State of Punjab and Anr. — Quashing and FIR | Punjab & Haryana HC (2010)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

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CRM M-2710 of 2010 Date of Decision:19.3.2010

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Jaswinder Singh and others

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.... Petitioners

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Versus

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State of Punjab and another

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.... Respondents

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CORAM: Hon'ble Ms. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur

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Present: Mr. K.B.S. Mann, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. K.S. Pannu, D.A.G. Punjab. Mr. R.K. Girdhar, Advocate for respondent No.2.

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1.Whether Reporters of Local Newspapers may be allowed to see the judgment?

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2.To be referred to the Reporters or not?

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3.Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?

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NIRMALJIT KAUR, J.(Oral)

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The present petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been moved for quashing of FIR No.191 dated 1.10.2004 registered under Sections 379/440/441/504/506/120-B,148,149 IPC at Police Station Lambi, District Muktsar, and subsequent proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise entered into between the parties.

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As per the allegations made in the FIR, the petitioners forcibly harvested the paddy corps of respondent No.2 and took with them. The dispute is personal in nature. However, the matter has since been compromised with the intervention of the relatives and respectable of the area. The compromise deed dated 5.1.2010 has been placed on record as Annexure P-2. The short affidavit of respondent No.2-complainant has also been placed on record. As per the said affidavit, the matter has been compromised and he does wish to pursue the case against the petitioners. A separate statement of respondent No.2 has also been recorded in the Court today to the same effect. As per the statement, the said compromise was

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CRM M-2710 of 2010

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-2-

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entered into without any pressure and out of his own sweet will and he has no objection if the FIR in question is quashed.

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The Full Bench of this Court, in the case of Kulwinder Singh and others v. State of Punjab and another 2007(3) RCR (Criminal) 1052 has held that 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 not only in matrimonial discord but others as well, such compromise deserves to be accepted. It is further held as under:-

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“ 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 noncompoundable 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.”

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In the case of Madan Mohan Abbot v. State of Punjab 2008

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(4) S.C. Cases 582, the Apex Court emphasised and advised as under:-

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“ We need to emphasise that it is perhaps advisable that in disputes where the question involved is of a purely personal nature, the court should ordinarily accept the terms of the compromise even in criminal proceedings as keeping the matter alive with no possibility of a result in favour of the prosecution is a luxury which the courts, grossly overburdened as they are, cannot afford and that the time so saved can be

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CRM M-2710 of 2010 -3utilised in deciding more effective and meaningful litigation. This is a common sense approach to the matter based on ground of realities and bereft of the technicalities of the law.”

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In view of the compromise effected between the parties and taking into account that the dispute is personal in nature, it is a fit case where there is no impediment in the way of the Court to exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of FIR in the interest of justice to promote peace and harmony.

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Thus, in view of the above and well settled proposition of law, the present petition is allowed and FIR No.191 dated 1.10.2004 registered under Sections 379/440/441/504/506/120-B,148,149 IPC at Police Station Lambi, District Muktsar and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom are hereby quashed in the interest of justice.

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19.3.2010 ( NIRMALJIT KAUR ) rajeev JUDGE

Jaswinder Singh and Ors. v. State of Punjab and Anr.

Case brief

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Jaswinder Singh and Ors. v. State of Punjab and Anr.

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