Crl.Misc.No.M- 28365 of 2011 (O&M) 1 In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh Date of decision : 16.7.2012 Crl.Misc.No.M- 28365 of 2011 (O&M) [ENTITY] and others Petitioners Versus [ENTITY] and another Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE [ENTITY] Present: Ms.[ENTITY], Advocate, for the petitioners. Mr.[ENTITY], AAG, Punjab. Pt. [ENTITY], Advocate for respondent No.2. [ENTITY], J.
By way of this petition filed under [SECTION] of the [ACT], the petitioner has sought quashing of FIR No. 296 dated 18.12.2008 (Annexure P-1), under [SECTION] [SECTION] of the [ACT] ('[ACT]' for short), registered at Police Station Division No.7 District Ludhiana and subsequent proceedings arising therefrom in view of the compromise arrived at between the parties.
Vide order dated 7.12.2011, parties were directed to appear before the trial Court for recording of their statements and the trial Court was directed to send its report as to whether the compromise had been arrived at between the parties or not.
In pursuance to the said order, the trial Court, after recording the statements of the parties, has forwarded the same to this Court.
A perusal of the statement of respondent No.2 recorded by the trial Court reveals that she has stated that she has no objection if this petition is accepted and the criminal proceedings are quashed. She has further submitted that the maintenance proceedings on behalf of [ENTITY] were not the part of the compromise effected between the parties.
It has transpired during the course of arguments that the maintenance proceedings qua [ENTITY] are pending in the trial Court. The said proceedings are not subject matter of the present petition. So far as the petition is concerned, the same relates to quashing of FIR No. 296 dated 18.12.2008 (Annexure P-1), under [SECTION] [SECTION] [ACT], registered at Police Station Division No.7 District Ludhiana As per the Full Bench judgment of this Court in Kulwinder Singh and others vs. [ENTITY], 2007 (3) RCR (Criminal) 1052, High Court has power under [SECTION] [ACT] 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 "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?
24.On an overall view of the facts as indicated hereinabove and keeping in mind the decision of this Court in [PRECEDENT]'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 these proceedings to continue.
Accordingly, the petition is allowed. FIR No. 296 dated 18.12.2008 (Annexure P-1), under [SECTION] [SECTION] [ACT] , registered at Police Station Division No.7 District Ludhiana and all the subsequent proceedings arising therefrom are quashed.
([ENTITY]) JUDGE July 16, 2012 anita