TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2003 (4) TMI 600
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.... the said writ petition and other petitions by this judgment. 2. The facts of only Criminal Writ Petition No. 1295 of 2002 are briefly recapitulated as under:- A joint petition by the complainant and the accused husband has been filed for quashing of FIR No. 498A, 406/34 IPC registered at Police Station Uttam Nagar. It is stated that on account of trivial matrimonial disputes said FIR was registered on 16.8.2002. The parties even filed a petition for the grant of divorce. During the pendency of the petition by the intervention of relations and friends, the complainant and her husband accused have resolved their disputes and differences and now they are living together happily. It is stated that the prosecution has not yet filed the challan. It is mentioned that the trial and prosecution would be sheer wastage of precious time of the Court and public funds and in the absence of any support from the complainant the prosecution cannot succeed and the trial in this case will prove to be an exercise in futility. Therefore, in the interest of justice, the FIR be quashed. We would not like to burden this judgment with the facts of the other cases. Those cases are also being di....
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.... make any order for the purpose of securing the ends of justice. 8. In Emperor v. Sukh Dev, AIR 1930 Lah. 465 the court observed that the authority of the Court exists for the advancement of justice, and if any attempt is made to abuse that authority, so as to produce injustice, the Court must have the power to prevent that abuse. In the absence of such power the administration of law would fail to serve the purpose for which alone the Court exists, namely, to promote and to prevent injustice. 9. In State of U.P. v. Mohd. Naim, [1964]2SCR363 their Lordships observed that Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure confers no new jurisdiction or power on the High Court. It merely safeguards all existing inherent powers possessed by them necessary, to secure the ends of justice. These powers which the court inherently possesses have been preserved lest it be considered that the only powers possessed by them, are those expressly conferred by the Code and that no inherent power had survived the passing of the Code. 10. In Niranjan Prakash v. Manni Lal, (1963) 2 All. 13 the court observed that in exercise of the powers under this section the High Court would be justified to q....
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....d as under: " But when the Judge is fairly certain that there is no prospect of the case ending in conviction the valuable time of the court should not be wasted for holding a trial only for the purpose of formally completing the procedure to pronounce the conclusion on a future date. Most of the Sessions Courts in India are under heavy pressure of workload. If the Sessions Judge is almost certain that the trial would only be an exercise in futility or a sheer waste of time it is advisable to truncate or snip the proceedings at the stage of Section 227 of the Code itself." 15. In Pepsi Food Ltd. And Anr. v. Special Judicial Magistrate and Ors. 1998CriLJ1 , their Lordships of the Supreme Court observed that the court will exercise jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code could not be inflexible or laying rigid formulae to be followed by the courts. Exercise of such power would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case but with the sole purpose to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. It is well settled that these powers have no limits. Of course, where there is more power, it becomes necessary to exercise utmos....
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....r to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. This being the position, exercise of power under section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code should be consistent with the scope and ambit of the same in the light of the decisions aforementioned. In appropriate cases, to prevent judicial process from being an instrument of oppression or harassment in the hands of frustrated or vindictive litigants, exercise of inherent power is not only desirable but necessary also, so that the judicial forum of court may not be allowed to be utilized for any oblique motive. When a person approaches the High Court under section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to quash the very issue of process, the High Court on the facts and circumstances of a case has to exercise the powers with circumspection as stated above to really serve the purpose and object for which they are conferred." 19. In Krishnan & Anr. v. Krishnaveni & Anr.; 1997CriLJ1519 , their Lordships observed and the relevant portion reads as under: " We hold that though the revision before the High Court under sub-section (1) of Section 397 is prohibited by sub-section (3) thereof, inherent ....
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.... That the power is not be resorted to if there is a specific provision in the Code for redress of the grievance of the aggrieved party; That it should not be exercised as against the express bar of law engrafted in any other provision of the Code; Inherent powers of the High Court should be exercised sparingly with circumspection and in rare cases and that too to correct patent illegalities" 23. If it is established prima facie that if a party wants to continue criminal proceedings against another only with a view to harassing him, the High Court can certainly quash the proceedings under Section 482. For this reason that the inherent power is undefined and indefinable, it should be only exercised cautiously and only under circumstances where exercise of such power is really called for. These observations were made in Mangattil Siddique v. K.M.Abdul Latheef and another, 1989 Cr.L.J. 533. 24. In Ram Narain v. Mool Chand & Ors.; AIR1960All296 the court observed in order to seek interference under this Section, three conditions should be fulfilled for exercise of inherent powers: The injustice which comes to light should be of a grave character and not ....
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....ework of law and not in violation of the law. 31. In Md.Khalilur Rahaman v. State of Orissa, 1989 Cr LJ 1845 the court observed that where it is apparent that all the disputes between the parties have subsided long back and they are divorced, the continuance of prosecution of the husband under Section 294 IPC will not achieve any beneficial result and the same has to be quashed by invoking the inherent powers of the Court. 32. In Thathapadi Venkatalakshmi vs. State of A.P & Another, 1991 Cr LJ 749 the court observed that where court has taken cognizance of offence under Section 498A IPC against the husband, thereafter some reconciliation has taken place and the parties seek compounding of the offence, in view of the larger interests of the parties and to secure the ends of justice, the court below may be directed under Section 482 to accord permission to compound the offence. 33. In Smt.Daggupati Jayalakshmi vs. The State, 1993 Cr LJ 3162 the court held that in exceptional circumstances, the High Court has got the power to exercise the power vested in it under Section 482 and permit the parties in matrimonial cases to compound the offence or direct the Magistrate to make a....
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....served that "Articles 32 & 226 have been incorporated in the Constitution primarily to ensure effective means of enforcing constitutional rights particularly fundamental rights. For centuries writs of habeas corpus have been considered as the most important writ for the protection of human liberty. Similarly, the writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto had proved their effectiveness in compelling the performance of public duty, in preventing inferior tribunals from going beyond their jurisdiction, in reviewing orders and convictions of inferior tribunals, and in inquiring into the right of a person to hold public office. 40. As aptly observed by the Apex Court in T.C.Basappa v. T.Nagappa reported as [1955]1SCR250 . "that in view of the express provisions of our Constitution we need not now look back to the early history or the procedural technicalities of these writs in the English law, nor feel oppressed by any difference or change of opinion expressed in particular cases by English Judges. We can make an order or issue a writ in the nature of certiorari in all appropriate cases and in appropriate manner, so long as we keep the broad and fundamental principl....
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....hese powers remain, our discretion and that of the High Courts is unfettered." 46. Similar conclusions have been arrived at by the Supreme Court in Sangram Singh v. Election Tribunal, Kotah Bhurey Lal Baya, [1955]2SCR1 . The relevant portion is reproduced: " The jurisdiction which articles 226 and 136 confer entitles the High Courts and this Court to examine the decisions of all Tribunals to see whether they have acted illegally. That jurisdiction cannot be taken away by a legislative device that purports to confer power on a tribunal to act illegally by enacting a statute that its illegal acts shall become legal the moment the tribunal chooses to say they are legal." 47. A very large number of cases have been referred to this Division Bench on the ground that the learned Single Judges have no power or jurisdiction to quash proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 482 Cr.P.C. in view of the Full Bench Judgment of this Court. In Gurbachan Singh Bhawnani Vs. The State and Another, 2002 II AD (Delhi) 66. Now it has become imperative to consider the judgment of the Full Bench in correct perspective. 48. A learned Single Judge of this Court a....
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....police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code. Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceedings is instituted) to the institution and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party. Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an interior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge. 50. On proper scrutiny and analysis of the broad parameters in which courts would be justified in exercise of the powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been enumerated by the Supreme Court, what Apex Court has....
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....tions 498A/406 IPC and where complaints have been filed and thereafter the parties have reconciled their differences and the wife has again started living with her husband happily and thereafter the complainant approached the Court for quashing the FIR filed by her under Sections 498A/406 IPC. Though the offence under Section 498A is not compoundable but in order to prevent the abuse of the process of the Court and to secure ends of justice, the various High Courts in a very large number of cases have quashed the FIR under said sections. The FIRs have been quashed on the basis of ratio laid down by the Supreme Court judgment in State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal and number of other judgments. The inherent powers have been used by various High Courts in a very large number of cases because the complainant wife after filing of the complaint has again started living with her husband and children, that she is living happily with her husband. She further states that now she has no complaint from her husband or his relations. In case the proceedings are not quashed in a case of this nature, then the parties will be compelled to face criminal prosecution and trial in entirely unwarranted and....
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.... nor by legislative enactment or even by the amendment of the Constitution. 59. All concerned may clearly appreciate this fact that the learned Single Judge exercises the powers of the High Court. In conclusion, it can be safely concluded that the existence of the powers of the learned Single Judge under Section 482 and Article 226 to quash the proceedings cannot be disputed or questioned. However, those powers have to be exercised in consonance with the well recognised principles laid down in a catena of cases by the Supreme Court. 60. In V.K.Gupta vs. Smt. Nirmala Gupta, [1980]1SCR506 , their Lordships observed that: " It is fundamental that reconciliation of a reputed marriage is the first essay of the Judge, aided by counsel in their noble adventure. The sanctity of marriage is in essence, the foundation of civilization and, Therefore, Court and counsel owe a duty to society to strain to the utmost to repair the snapped relation between the parties. This task becomes more insistent when an innocent off-spring of the wedding struggles in between the disputed parents." 61. It is abundantly clear that the powers under Article 226 cannot be taken away or abridged ....
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....not limit or affect the powers under Section 482 of the Code." 64. On careful analysis of the words incorporated in Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the legislative intention as culled out from the catena of judgments mentioned above we can safely conclude that any legislative enactment dealing with procedure can not provide for all cases that can possibly arise. Therefore, the court must have inherent powers apart from the express provisions of law incorporated in the Code. The inherent powers are absolutely imperative for proper discharge of duties imposed on the court by law. 65. The courts exist not only for securing obedience to the law of the land but also for securing the ends of justice in its widest sense. It should always be borne in mind that ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law, though justice has to be administered according to laws made by the legislature. 66. Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. does not confer any new powers on the High Court, but merely recognises and preserves the inherent powers previously possessed by it. It merely declares that such inherent powers as the court may possess shall not be limited or affected by anyt....
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.... it differently the inherent powers of the Court exist to do the right and to undo the wrong in the administration of justice. 72. The prerogative of writs have been issued in England for centuries. Though we borrowed the concept of writ jurisdiction from England but in the last five decades we have enormously developed our own writ jurisprudence according to our own judicial ethos and jurisprudence. The High Court's powers under Articles 226 and 227 have been enumerated in a very large number of cases. The extraordinary jurisdiction of the courts exist with the High Courts for doing justice and for removing injustice within the framework of the laws and the Constitution. The Constitution has given enormous powers under Article 226 of the Constitution to the Courts to ensure effective enforcement of Constitutional Rights particularly fundamental rights. For centuries writs of habeas corpus have been considered as the most important writ for the protection of human liberty. Similarly, the writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto had proved their effectiveness in compelling the performance of public duty, in preventing inferior tribunals from going beyond th....