Crl.Misc.M No.21365 of 2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M-21365 of 2010 (O&M) Date of Decision:August 31, 2010 Navtej Singh and others ...........Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and another ..........Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Sabina Present: Mr.Rajesh Bhatheja, Advocate for the petitioner Mr.Amandeep Singh Rai, Assistant Advocate General,Punjab Mr.S.K.Arora, Advocate for Mr.Kulbhushan Soi,Advocate for respondent No.2 Respondent No.2 in person ** Sabina, J. Petitioners have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of FIR No. 16 dated 20.3.2004 under Sections 307/326/324/323/148/149 of the Indian Penal Code (`IPC' for short) registered at Police Station Badni Kalan District Moga (Annexure P1) and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise dated 16.7.2010 (Annexure P3). Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that it is a case of version and cross-version. Challan/final report has not been presented in this case so far. Now, with the intervention of relatives and Crl.Misc.M No.21365 of 2010 2 friends, parties have amicably settled the dispute. Parties are the resident of the same village and with a view to live in peace, they have amicably resolved the dispute. Respondent No.2-Gurpreet Singh and injured Sukhdev Singh, Gurdev Singh, Harminder Singh and Jagdev Singh are present in person along with their counsel and have admitted the factum of the compromise between the parties. The compromise (Annexure P3) is duly signed by the complainant and the injured. The complainant as well as the injured have admitted the contents of the affidavits ( Annexures P4 to P8 ) executed by them wherein they have stated that they have no objection if the FIR in question is ordered to be quashed. The original affidavits of the complainant as well as the injured have been placed on record. 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. 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. 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 Crl.Misc.M No.21365 of 2010 3 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.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 in order to live in peace, no useful purpose would be served by proceeding further with the criminal proceedings. Accordingly, this petition is allowed. FIR No.16 dated 20.3.2004 under Sections 307/326/324/323/148/149 IPC registered at Police Crl.Misc.M No.21365 of 2010 4 Station Badni Kalan District Moga (Annexure P1) as well as the subsequent proceedings arising therefrom, are quashed . ( Sabina ) Judge August 31, 2010 arya