Crl. Misc. No. M-36175 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Crl. Misc. No. M-36175 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision: August 11, 2010 Karminder Singh @ Parminder Singh and others ...Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others ...Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GURDEV SINGH Present: Mr. APS Shergill, Advocate, for the petitioners. Mr. Raghbir Chaudhary, Sr. DAG, Punjab. GURDEV SINGH, J. Petitioners-Karminder Singh, Ravinder Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Harsimrit Singh, have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code for quashing the FIR No. 36 dated 18.6.2009 registered at Police Fategarh Churian, District Batala, under Section 379 IPC and for staying further proceedings in this FIR. They have averred therein that they have been opposing the illegal actions of the Gram Panchayat of their village of which Bachittar Singh was the Sarpanch. The members of the Panchayat decided to demolish the only passage leading to the house of Karminder Singh-petitioner No.1, regarding which they moved complaints to the Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, and also filed a civil suit for injunction in the court of Civil Judge, Batala, in which the parties were ordered to maintain status quo. They have been agitating the other illegal activities of the Gram Panchayat effecting general public at large, for Crl. Misc. No. M-36175 of 2009 2 which the complainant party was nursing a grudge against them. The above said FIR has been fabricated and concocted just to tarnish their image and for stopping them from challenging the illegal activities of the complainant party. The contents of the FIR do not reveal as to who lifted the pipes and at whose instance. No time of the commission of the offence has been given there. No prima facie case is made out against them from the contents of that FIR. The old cement pipes regarding which the complaint was made by the Sarpanch and on the basis of which the present FIR has been registered, are still lying in the village and have not been used by any one for any purpose. An inquiry was got conducted by the District Development and Panchayat Officer, (DD&PO), Gurdaspur, and it has been reported that out of six cement pipes, four are lying on the kacha path leading from new road towards the house of Ajit Singh and two pipes have been taken away by Didar Singh and Hardeep Singh and that they did not steal those pipes. The FIR lodged against them is false and frivolous and is a result of political rivalry. On notice of motion having been issued, a detailed reply was filed by the respondents. In that reply, it has been admitted that the inquiry was got conducted by the DD&PO through Panchayat Officer and as per the report, four pipes out of six pipes were found lying on the spot on the kacha path leading from new road towards the house of Ajit Singh and others. It has been pleaded therein that four pipes have already been recovered from the possession of the petitioners for which they are liable to be prosecuted in the court of law. All of them are members of the joint family and are residing in the same house. I have heard learned counsel for the parties. Crl. Misc. No. M-36175 of 2009 3 It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that falsity of the contents of the FIR is apparent from the fact that during the inquiry conducted by the Panchayat officer, four of the alleged stolen pipes were found lying on the spot and other two were found to have been taken away by the other two persons. This FIR is a result of old rivalry between the petitioners and the Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat. Civil litigation was also initiated regarding the path from where the alleged pipes were stated to have been uprooted and that was the cause for getting the false report lodged against the petitioner. The FIR is the result of the malice on the part of the Sarpanch of the village and these criminal proceedings have been resorted to in order to wreak vengeance. On the other hand, it has been submitted by the learned State counsel that the contents of the FIR were found to be true during the investigation and four stolen pipes have already been recovered from the possession of the petitioners. It cannot be said that no such offence is made out from the contents of the FIR. There is no other ground for quashing the proceedings. Due weight is to be given to the findings recorded during the inquiry, which was ordered by the DD&PO, which is the supervising authority so far the the Gram Panchayats are concerned. During that inquiry, four pipes were still found lying at the spot. As per the contents of the FIR six pipes were stolen. In that eventuality, it becomes highly improbable if the four stolen pipes have already been recovered from the possession of the petitioners. The finding recorded during the inquiry creates a doubt in the truthfulness of the allegations levelled against the petitioners in the FIR. The same appears to be the result of the rivalry Crl. Misc. No. M-36175 of 2009 4 between the petitioners and the Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat. It is well settled that the FIR can be quashed where it is actuated by malice in order to wreak vengeance. In view of the findings recorded during the inquiry, the contents of the FIR become highly improbable and no prudent person would come to the conclusion that the alleged pipes, which were old one and were of no use, were stolen by the petitioners. In view of the above discussion, this petition is hereby accepted, the FIR and the subsequent proceedings on the basis thereof, are ordered to be quashed. August 11, 2010 (GURDEV SINGH ) prem JUDGE