Karamjit Singh @ Kala vs State of Haryana and Another

Sabina, J.—Petitioner has filed the present petition u/s 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 seeking quashing of FIR No. 18 dated 17.04.2012 registered under Sections 457, 380 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, (''IPC'' in short), at police Station Sadiq, District Faridkot and all the subsequent proceedings arising there from on the basis of compromise effected between the parties. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that now with the intervention of relatives and friends, parties have arrived at a compromise.

Respondent No. 2 is present in person along with his counsel and has admitted the factum of compromise between the parties. He has further stated that he has no objection if the FIR in question is ordered to be quashed. He has tendered his affidavit on record in this regard.

As per the Full Bench judgment of this Court in Kulwinder Singh and others vs. State of Punjab, 2007 (3) RCR (Cri.) 1052, High Court has power u/s 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. 26 and 24 has held as under:-

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 where under 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 facts. 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?

On an overall view of the facts as indicated hereinabove and keeping in mind the decision of the 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 and have decided to live in peace, no useful purpose would be served in allowing the criminal proceedings to continue.

Accordingly, the present petition is allowed. The FIR No. 18 dated 17.04.2012 registered under Sections 457, 380 IPC, at police Station Sadiq, District Faridkot, and all subsequent proceedings arising there from, are quashed.

The Electricity meter installed in the Govt. residence of the undersigned seems to be out of order because the bill sent by your department is not as per the consumption and it is on the very higher side and it is happened for last few months. It is therefore, requested that new electricity meter be installed to avoid any miscalculations or be replaced.