Maintainability of Section 482 criminal quashing petition denied when filed through an attorney instead of the accused.

A petition under Section 482 CrPC seeking quashing of criminal proceedings was held not maintainable when filed by the accused through a power-of-attorney holder. The Court reasoned that such proceedings should ordinarily be prosecuted by the person aggrieved, namely the accused against whom the complaint or process is pending. A third person cannot, absent a legally recognised disability of the accused, act as a proxy litigant to invoke the court's inherent jurisdiction. Authorities cited by the petitioner were distinguished on their facts and were not treated as establishing any general rule permitting such filing through an attorney.

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Issues: Whether a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for quashing criminal proceedings could be maintained when filed by the accused through an attorney.

Analysis: The petition sought quashing of the complaint, summoning order, and subsequent proceedings, but it was filed through the accused's power-of-attorney holder. The Court held that a criminal proceeding can ordinarily be challenged only by the person aggrieved, namely the accused against whom the complaint or proceedings are pending. A third person cannot, in the absence of a legally recognised disability of the accused, prosecute such proceedings as a proxy litigant. The authorities relied upon by the petitioner were distinguished on facts and were not treated as laying down any general rule permitting an accused to invoke Section 482 through an attorney.

Conclusion: The petition was not maintainable as filed through the attorney and was liable to be dismissed.

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