IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M-3017 of 2009 Date of Decision:January 20, 2010 Narender Lather and others ...........Petitioners Versus State of Haryana and others ..........Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Sabina Present: Mr.Munish Mittal, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr.H.S.Benniwal,Dputy Advocate General,Haryana Mr.Mohit Garg,Advocate for respondent No.2 ** Sabina, J. Petitioners have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of FIR No. 631 dated 25.11.2008 under Sections 406,420,465,467,468,471,120-B of the Indian Penal Code (`IPC' for short) registered at Police Station Karnal Civil Lines District Karnal (Annexure P1) and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise (Annexure P2). Learned counsel for the petitioners and respondent No.2 have submitted that the property had been sold to respondent No. 2 on the basis of a fake general power of attorney but now she has been given alternative land by the petitioners and the sale deeds dated 11.9.2008 and 17.9.2008 had been set aside in view of the compromise effected between the parties vide award dated 28.10.2009. On 16.4.2009, respondent No.2 Crl. Misc. No. M-3017 of 2009 -2- had appeared in the Court and had stated that she had been granted alternative land by the petitioners. Learned counsel for respondent No.2 has submitted that since the sale deeds have been set aside in terms of the compromise, he has no objection if the FIR in question be quashed as respondent No.2 has already been provided alternative land by the petitioners. 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 Crl. Misc. No. M-3017 of 2009 -3- 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 settled their dispute, 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. 631 dated 25.11.2008 under Sections 406,420,465,467,468,471,120-B IPC registered at Police Station Karnal, Civil lines District Karnal (Annexure P1) as well as the subsequent proceedings arising therefrom,are quashed . ( Sabina ) Judge January 20, 2009 arya