IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM No. M-34875 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision: 01.09.2011 Jeewan Jyoti and Ors. ..Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and Anr. ..Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SABINA Present: Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. G.S. Brar, AAG, Punjab. Respondent No. 2 in person alongwith Mr. Munish Bhardwaj, Advocate for respondent No. 2. **** SABINA, J. Petitioners have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short 'Cr.PC' ) seeking quashing of the Complaint No. 21/2009 dated 12.2.2009 (Annexure P-3) under Sections 452, 379, 427, 323, 506, 148, 149 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC') read with Section 3 of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and the summoning order dated 18.7.2009 (Annexure P-4) and all the subsequent proceedings arising therefrom. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that during the pendency of the petition, the parties have arrived at a compromise with the intervention of the relatives and friends. Parties are closely related to each other. Respondent No. 2 is present in person alongwith her counsel and has admitted the factum of compromise between the parties and CRM No. M-34875 of 2010 (O&M) -2- has stated that she has no objection if the Complaint in question is ordered to be quashed. Affidavit in this regard sworn by respondent No. 2 has already 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 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 CRM No. M-34875 of 2010 (O&M) -3 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 and have decided to live in peace, no useful purpose would be served in allowing the criminal proceedings to continue. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed. The Complaint No. 21/2009 dated 12.2.2009 (Annexure P-3) and the summoning order dated 18.7.2009 under Sections 452, 379, 427, 323, 506, 148, 149 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC') read with Section 3 of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (Annexure P-4) and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom are quashed. (SABINA ) September 01, 2011 JUDGE Poonam (II)