Allowed

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

Punjab & Haryana HC1 Feb 2012CRM-M/5538/2011

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court allowed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR and subsequent proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C. relying on a genuine compromise between parties in a non-compoundable offence. The court held that inherent powers can be exercised to quash proceedings in the interest of justice and social harmony. FIR No. 41 was quashed with all subsequent proceedings.

What did the court decide?

FIR No. 41 dated 5.3.2003 under Sections 420, 406, 120-B IPC & Section 24 of Immigration Act and all subsequent proceedings are quashed.

Gurmit Singh and Ors. Vs State of Punjab and Anr. — Quashing and FIR | Punjab & Haryana HC (2012)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

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CRM M-5538 of 2011 Date of Decision:1.2.2012

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Gurmit 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. Rakesh Kumar, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. Navdeep Sukhna, D.A.G. Punjab.

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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 has been filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of FIR No.41 dated 5.3.2003 under Sections 420,406,120-B IPC & Section 24 of Immigration Act, Police Station Bholath, District Kapurthala and subsequent proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise entered into between the parties.

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The FIR in question was got registered by respondent No.2. However, the matter has been compromised due to the intervention of the respectables of the area. An affidavit (Annexure P-2) has also been placed on record in this regard.

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Vide order dated 22.2.2011, notice of motion was issued and the trial Court was directed to send the report with regard to the validity or otherwise of the compromise (Annexure P-2) after recording the statements of all the concerned parties.

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In pursuance to the same, report of the Chief Judicial

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CRM M-5538 of 2011

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Magistrate, Kapurthala, has been received. As per the said report, the statements of the parties have been recorded. It is further submitted that the Court is satisfied that the compromise effected between the parties is genuine.

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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 (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

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CRM M-5538 of 2011 -3-

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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 utilised 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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Taking into account that the compromise has been effected between the parties, report received from the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kapurthala, 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.

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Accordingly, the present petition is allowed and FIR No.41 dated 5.3.2003 under Sections 420,406,120-B IPC & Section 24 of Immigration Act, Police Station Bholath, District Kapurthala and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom are hereby quashed.

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( NIRMALJIT KAUR ) JUDGE

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1.2.2012 rajeev

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

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

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