Criminal Misc. No. M- 29312 of 2010 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Misc. No. M- 29312 of 2010 Date of decision:- 14.02.2011 Jaspal Singh @ Jassi ...Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE RITU BAHRI Present:- Mr. C.L. Verma, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Vishal Munjal, Addl.A.G. Punjab for respondent No.1. Mr. Amit Verma, Advocate for respondent No.2. RITU BAHRI J.(Oral) The present petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed by the petitioners for quashing of FIR No. 147 dated 10.10.2005 under Section 376 IPC, registered at Police Station Sahnewal, District Ludhiana (Annexure P-1) on the basis of compromise (Annexure P-2). Counsel for the petitioner submits the FIR in question has been registered against the petitioner for offence under Section 376 IPC. The alleged occurrence took place on 10.10.2005 when the accused had committed rape upon respondent No.2-complainant when she was alone at home. After her parents came back, she got this FIR registered against the petitioner-accused. She has made a statement in the Court as PW2 on 07.8.2006 to the effect that accused did not commit any act with her and he had not come present on that day. She had refused to identify Jaspal Singh-accused present in the Court. Criminal Misc. No. M- 29312 of 2010 -2- Counsel for respondent No.2-Paramjit Kaur @ Sona filed an affidavit today in Court on her behalf. She is present in the Court and identified by her counsel. As per affidavit, she has conducted marriage in September 2010 and she is now happily residing her in-laws house. She has compromised the matter with the petitioner due to intervention of relatives and respectable of the locality and now she does not want to pursue the proceedings in the FIR and has no objection in case the FIR in question is quashed qua petitioner. The issue of quashing of FIR on the basis of compromise has been discussed in detail in a Full Bench judgment of this Court in Kulwinder Singh versus State of Punjab, 2007(3) RCR (Criminal) 1052 in which minority view in Dharamvir versus State of Haryana 2005(3) RCR (Criminal) 426 has been approved. Reference has been made to Mrs. Shakuntala Sawhney v. Mrs. Kaushalya Sawhney and others (1980)1 S.C.C. 63 , Hon'ble Krishna Iyer, J. aptly summoned up the essence of compromise in the following words:- “ The finest hour of justice arrives propitiously when parties, despite falling apart, bury the hatchet and weave a sense of fellowship of reunion.” 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 emity 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 Criminal Misc. No. M- 29312 of 2010 -3- eventualities which the cause of justice may throw up during the course of a litigation. There can neither be an exhaustive list nor the defined parameters to enable a High court to invoke or exercise its inherent powers. It will always depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. In the present case, as per the complainant she has got married in September 2010 and is happily residing with her in-laws house. No purpose will be served if the proceedings in the FIR in question are allowed to be continue. The offence under Section 376 IPC is non-compoundable but in order to secure the ends of justice and put in end the ordeal of petitioner and complainant facing this trial since the year 2005. In view of the factual position and affidavit of respondent No.2- Paramjit Kaur @ Sona dated 07.12.2010, the FIR No. 147 dated 10.10.2005 under Section 376 IPC, registered at Police Station Sahnewal, District Ludhiana, is quashed with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom qua petitioner. The petition is disposed of accordingly. February 14, 2011 ( RITU BAHRI ) Vijay Asija JUDGE