04.2011 Surat Singh & Ors. v. The State of Punjab & Anr.
Case at a glance
- Decided
- 07 Apr 2011
- Bench
- NIRMALJIT KAUR
Provisions considered
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ss. 320, 482
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 ss. 406, 420
Key paragraphs
- Para 22. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest ? ** NIRMALJIT KAUR, J. (ORAL) This is a petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of FIR No.4 dated 05.01.2009 under Sections 406 and…
Judgment
CORAM : Hon'ble Ms. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur Present:- Ms. Malkiat Mann, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. J.S. Brar, A.A.G., Punjab for the respondent-State. Mr. Jagbir Singh, Advocate for respondent No.2. *****
Whether Reporters of Local Newspapers may be allowed to see the judgment ?
To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest ? ** NIRMALJIT KAUR, J. (ORAL) This is a petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of FIR No.4 dated 05.01.2009 under Sections 406 and 420 IPC registered at Police Station Amloh, District Fatehgarh Sahib and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom on the basis of compromise entered into between the parties. The FIR was registered against the present petitioners by respondent No.2-Gurpreet Kaur wife of late Kultar Singh. Due to the intervention of the relatives and respectables, the matter has been compromised. As per the compromise, the complainant respondent No.2- Crl. Misc. No.M-5534 of 2011 2 Gurpreet Kaur does not wish to pursue the above mentioned FIR against the present petitioners. An affidavit was also executed affirming the factum of compromise and the same is placed on record.
It is duly stated by her that the matter has been compromised and she has no objection, if the said FIR is quashed. Respondent no.2/complainant is present in the Court. The present FIR arises out of falsely implicating the husband of respondent No.2 for sending him abroad. The petitioners did not send her husband to German and he died due to mental tension. The matter having been compromised, it is fit case where there is no impediment in the way of the Court to exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C for quashing of the FIR. The Full Bench of this Court, in the case of Kulwinder Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another 2007(3) RCR (Criminal) 1052 has held that 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 not only in matrimonial discord but others as well, such compromise deserves to be accepted. It is further held as under :-
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.
In the case of Madan Mohan Abbot vs. State of Punjab 2008(4) S.C. Cases 582, the Apex Court emphasised and advised as Crl. Misc. No.M-5534 of 2011 3 under :- “ We need to emphasise that it is perhaps advisable that in disputes where the question involved is of a purely personal nature, the court should ordinarily accept the terms of the compromise even in criminal proceedings as keeping the matter alive with no possibility of a result in favour of the prosecution is a luxury which the courts, grossly overburdened as they are, cannot afford and that the time so saved can be utilised in deciding more effective and meaningful litigation.
This is a common sense approach to the matter based on ground of realities and bereft of the technicalities of the law.” The matter has been compromised. In view of the settled position of law, it would be just and proper to quash the FIR for peace, harmony and thus allow the parties to move on in life. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed and FIR No. 4 dated 05.01.2009 under Sections 406 and 420 IPC registered at Police Station Amloh, District Fatehgarh Sahib and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom are hereby quashed in the interest of justice.
07.04.2011 (NIRMALJIT KAUR) JUDGE
Questions this judgment answers
Which statutory provisions did this judgment involve?
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — ss. 320, 482; Indian Penal Code, 1860 — ss. 406, 420.
Which court decided this case, and when?
Punjab & Haryana High Court, on 07 Apr 2011. The bench was NIRMALJIT KAUR.
Precedent status how later indexed judgments have treated this case
No known negative treatment found in the Courts & Cases corpus.
This is a result about the indexed corpus, not a finding that the judgment remains good law. Coverage may be incomplete.