Crl. Misc. No. M-21885 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M-21885 of 2009 Date of decision: 08.09.2009 Amarjit @ Goldy son of Rura Ram .....PETITIONER VERSUS State of Punjab and another ..... RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH Present: Mr. Avtar Singh Khinda, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Amandeep Singh Rai, AAG, Punjab, for respondent No. 1. Mr. Dhanwinder Singhy, Advocate, for respondent No. 2-complainant. *** AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J. (ORAL) Prayer in the present petition is for quashing of the FIR No. 62 dated 31.03.2007 under Sections 420, 466, 468, 471 IPC registered at Police Station Division No. 7, Jalandhar (Annexure P-1) along with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of the compromise, which has been entered into between the parties. Crl. Misc. No. M-21885 of 2009 2 Counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner and respondent No. 2-complainant are closely related with each other. He submits that it was primarily a monetary dispute which has occurred between the parties because of some misunderstandings, which having been resolved now and the parties having settled the issue, the continuance of the criminal proceedings on the basis of the FIR registered against the petitioner should come to an end and the FIR in question, therefore, may be quashed. He relies upon the compromise dated 01.08.2009 (Annexure P-2). He submits that the compromise has been entered into between the parties with the intervention of the relatives, friends and respectables of the Society and now the dispute having been resolved and the complainant not wanting to pursue the matter, the FIR and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom deserve to be quashed. On the other hand, counsel for respondent No. 2 has filed an affidavit of Jeet Ram @ Jeet Lal son of Gurbachan Lal-respondent No. 2- complainant in the Court today. In the said affidavit, the complainant has admitted the factum that the petitioner is his close relative and as the compromise has been entered into with the intervention of the respectables and relatives vide deed dated 01.08.2009, the money dispute having been resolved, he does not want to pursue the matter any further and he has no objection if the FIR and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom are quashed. Sh. Jeet Ram @ Jeet Lal son of Gurbachan Lal-respondent No. 2 is present in Court, as has been identified by his counsel. He has stated in the Court that compromise dated 01.08.2009, copy whereof has been placed on record as Annexure P-2, has been entered into by him with the petitioner and he has no objection if the FIR and all consequential Crl. Misc. No. M-21885 of 2009 3 proceedings arising therefrom are quashed. Counsel for the State, in the light of the compromise which has been entered into between the parties and amicable settlement of the dispute, states that he has no objection to the quashing of the FIR along with all consequential proceedings. I have heard the counsel for the parties and have gone through the records of the case. In the light of the affidavit and the statement, which has been made by Jeet Ram @ Jeet Lal son of Gurbachan Lal-respondent No. 2- complainant, the matter having been amicably resolved and the compromise having been entered into between the parties, it would be just and equitable that the FIR in question which primarily has arisen because of some monetary dispute, which had crept in between the parties and that having been settled, the interest of justice would be served if the FIR is 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 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 Crl. Misc. No. M-21885 of 2009 4 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, the present petition is allowed. FIR No. 62 dated 31.03.2007 under Sections 420, 466, 468, 471 IPC registered at Police Station Division No. 7, Jalandhar (Annexure P-1)along with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom are hereby quashed. ( AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH ) JUDGE September 08, 2009 pj Crl. Misc. No. M-21885 of 2009 5