IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M-14320 of 2009(O&M) Date of Decision:July 21, 2010 Gurdev Singh ...........Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others ..........Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Sabina Present: Mr.Yogesh Goel, Advocate for the petitioner Mr.Amandeep Singh Rai, Assistant Advocate General Punjab Mr.Ajay Singla,Advocate for respondents No. 2 to 4 ** Sabina, J. Petitioner has filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of FIR No. 81 dated 3.9.2009 under Sections 420/467/468/471 of the Indian Penal Code (`IPC' for short) registered at Police Station Raikot, Police District Jagraon, District Ludhiana (Annexure P3) and consequential proceedings thereto and the impugned order dated 24.5.2002 (Annexure P4). Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that now, parties with the intervention of respectables have arrived at a compromise. In civil suit filed by the petitioner, endorsement in quesiton has been upheld to be genuine vide judgment and decree dated 6.11.2008 (Annexure P6). Crl. Misc. No. M-14320 of 2010 (O&M) -2- Respondents No.2 and 4 are present in person along with their counsel. Respondent No. 4 has also appeared on behalf of respondent No.3 on the basis of special power of attorney executed by his brother Gurmeet Singh in his favour. Respondents No. 2 and 4 have admitted the factum of compromise between the parties and have submitted that they have no objection if the FIR in question is ordered to be quashed. Original compromise deed as well affidavits of Gurmail Kaur and Harminder Singh 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 have any further claim against the Company. What, however, remains is the fact that Crl. Misc. No. M-14320 of 20109 (O&M) -3- 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. 81 dated 3.9.2000 under Sections 420/467/468/471 IPC registered at Police Station Raikot, Police District Jagraon District Ludhiana as well as the Crl. Misc. No. M-14320 of 20109 (O&M) -4- subsequent proceedings arising therefrom,are quashed . ( Sabina ) Judge July 21, 2009 arya