IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 24.08.2009 Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 Sarwan Singh and others .....PETITIONERS VERSUS State of Punjab and another ..... RESPONDENTS Crl. Misc. No. M-3496 of 2009 Sahib Singh and others .....PETITIONERS VERSUS State of Punjab and another ..... RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH Present: Mr. Sarbjit Singh, Advocate, for the petitioners (Crl. Misc. No. M-3485 of 2009) Mr. KPS Sandhu, Advocate, for the petitioner (Crl. Misc. No. M-3496 of 2009 for respondent No. 2 (Crl. Misc. No. M-3485 of 2009) Mr. Amandeep Singh Rai, AAG, Punjab, for respondent No. 1. *** AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J. (ORAL) By this order I propose to dispose of two cases i.e. Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 titled as Sarwan Singh and others vs. State of Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 and other connected matter -2- Punjab and another and Crl. Misc. No. M-3496 of 2009 titled as Sahib Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another, as they arise from one common FIR. In Crl. Misc. No. M-3485 of 2009, the prayer is for quashing of the FIR No. 56 dated 31.05.2008 under Sections 326, 323, 452, 34 IPC registered at Police Station Mehta, District Amritsar and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom. FIR No. 56 dated 31.05.2008 was recorded on the basis of a statement made by Sh. Sahib Singh, wherein the petitioners were arrayed as accused and in this very case, the cross case was got registered by way of an DDR on the statement of Rajwant Kaur d/o Gurdial Singh. It would not be out of way to mention here that Sahib Singh and Rajwant Kaur are husband and wife. During the pendency of the FIR and the proceedings arising therefrom along with the DDR, the parties have entered into a compromise, which is dated 03.12.2008, copy whereof has been placed on record as Annexure P-2. As per the said compromise, the husband and wife have amicably resolved all their disputes and differences and as of now they are residing together as husband and wife at Village Khabe Rajputan, Tehsil Baba Bakala, District Amritsar. Counsel for the petitioners, in the respective petitions, submit that in view of the above position, the FIR in question as well as the DDR deserve to be quashed. The dispute having been amicably settled and the husband and wife now residing together, the matter, if prolonged, would only be burden for both of them and their relatives, who are accused in the FIR as well as in the DDR. They submit that both the complainants i.e. Sahib Singh s/o Lakhwinder Singh and Rajwant Kaur d/o Gurdial Singh w/o Sahib singh have no objection to the quashing of the FIR and the DDR registered by them respectively. Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 and other connected matter -3- Affidavits to this effect have been filed in the Court today, which are taken on record. Sahib Singh and Rajwant Kaur are present in the Court. On being questioned by this Court, they both have accepted the factum of compromise dated 03.12.2008 (annexure P-2), which has been entered into between the parties and have also stated that they are now residing together as husband and wife at their Village Khabe Rajputan, Tehsil Baba Bakala, District Amritsar. They have been identified by their respective counsel and have also identified by ASI Naresh Kumar, Police Station Mehta, who is present in the Court. In the light of the compromise and the statements, which have been given by the complainants respectively, counsel for the State has no objection if the FIR in question is quashed. In view of the above factual position and the statements, which have been given by the complainants and further keeping in view the fact that the FIR and the DDR have come into existence, which was primarily a matrimonial dispute between the parties and the husband and wife, namely, Sahib Singh s/o Lakhwinder Singh and Rajwant Kaur d/o Gurdial Singh, having amicably resolved the dispute and are now residing together as husband and wife, it would be in the interest of justice that the FIR and the DDR be quashed. A Larger Bench of this Court in the case of Kulwinder Singh & Ors. vs. State of Punjab & Anr. 2007 (3) RCR (Criminal) 1052, while discussing the scope of quashing of prosecution on the basis of compromise, in exercise of powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C., even in non-compoundable offence(s), has held as under:- “28. 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 Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 and other connected matter -4- 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 in a matrimonial discord, landlord-tenant matters, commercial transactions and other such matters can safely be dealt with by the Court by exercising its powers under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. in the event of a compromise, but this is not to say that the power is limited to such cases. There can never be any such rigid rule to prescribe the exercise of such power, especially in the absence of any premonitions to forecast and predict eventualities which the cause of justice may throw up during the course of a litigation. 29. 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 non-compoundable 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.” Therefore, in view of the discussion above, since the parties have amicably settled the matter, no useful purpose would be served if the proceedings are continued before the trial Court. Accordingly, both the petitions are allowed. FIR No. 56 dated 31.05.2008 under Sections 326, 323, 452, 34 IPC registered at Police Station Mehta, District Amritsar and DDR No. 17 dated 5.6.2008 under Sections 326, 323, 34 IPC, registered as Police Station Mehta, District Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 and other connected matter -5- Amristar and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom are hereby quashed. ( AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH ) JUDGE August 24, 2009 pj IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M-3496 of 2009 Date of decision: 24.08.2009 Sahib Singh and others .....PETITIONERS VERSUS State of Punjab and another ..... RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH Present: Mr. KPS Sandhu, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Amandeep Singh Rai, AAG, Punjab, for respondent No. 1. *** AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J. (ORAL) For orders see Crl. Misc. No. 3485 of 2009 titled as Sarwan Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another. ( AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH ) JUDGE August 24, 2009 pj