TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (10) TMI 2047
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....7 and 506 of the I.P.C. are not compoundable, the learned Deputy Advocate General have raised objection that the present compounding application deserves to be rejected. 2. At that point of time, this Court was seized with another judgment, which has been rendered on 28th September, 2018 in C-482 Application No. 1538 of 2018, Pan Singh Rana v. State of Uttarakhand and another, having an identical issue pertaining to the compounding of the offences under Sections 307 and 506 I.P.C. was under consideration. 3. Reverting back to the present case, the applicants have been made accused by the complainant/respondents in an offence, said to have been committed on 27th September, 2015, which was reported to the Police Station Kotwali Roorkee, District Haridwar as Case Crime No. 285 of 2015, under Sections 147, 148, 323, 307, 427, 504 and 506 of the I.P.C. On the complaint of respondent No. 3, an investigation was conducted and after the investigation, a chargesheet has been submitted by the Investigating Officer, being Chargesheet No. 212 of 2015 dated 27th February, 2015, on which, cognizance was taken and the summoning order dated 1st March, 2018 has been issued by the learned Cour....
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....ection taken by the learned Deputy Advocate General, pertaining to the non-composition of the offences under the aforesaid Sections, since being not compoundable under Section 320 of the Cr.P.C., this Court after considering the fact that the parties have settled their scores amicably, no fruitful purpose would be served to force upon the applicants to undergo the trial entailing time and money, as it would be a futile exercise with no logical conclusion, more particularly, in view of the various judgments rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court. 7. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Gian Singh v. State of Punjab and another reported in (2012) 10 SCC 303 has held as follows: "58. Where High Court quashes a criminal proceeding having regard to the fact that dispute between the offender and victim has been settled although offences are not compoundable, it does so as in its opinion, continuation of criminal proceedings will be an exercise in futility and justice in the case demands that the dispute between the parties is put to an end and peace is restored; securing the ends of justice being the ultimate guiding factor. No doubt, crimes are acts which have harmful e....
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....e settled their dispute would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and no category can be prescribed. However, before exercise of such power, the High Court must have due regard to the nature and gravity of the crime. Heinous and serious offences of mental depravity or offences like murder, rape, dacoity, etc. cannot be fittingly quashed even though the victim or victim's family and the offender have settled the dispute. Such offences are not private in nature and have serious impact on society. Similarly, any compromise between the victim and offender in relation to the offences under special statutes like Prevention of Corruption Act or the offences committed by public servants while working in that capacity etc; cannot provide for any basis for quashing criminal proceedings involving such offences. But the criminal cases having overwhelmingly and predominatingly civil favour stand on different footing for the purposes of quashing, particularly the offences arising from commercial, financial, mercantile, civil, partnership or such like transactions or the offences arising out of matrimony relating to dowry, etc. or the family disputes where the wrong is basicall....
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....laint as vested in Section 482 of the Code or extra ordinary power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. We are, therefore, of the view that if for the purpose of securing the ends of justice, quashing of FIR becomes necessary, Section 320 would not be a bar to the exercise of power of quashing. It is, however, a different matter depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case whether to exercise or not such a power. 10. In State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy & Ors. [(1977) 2 SCC 699], considering the scope of inherent power of quashing under Section 482, this Court held that in the exercise of this wholesome power, the High Court is entitled to quash proceedings if it comes to the conclusion that ends of justice so require. It was observed that in a criminal case, the veiled object behind a lame prosecution, the very nature of the material on which the structure of the prosecution rests and the like would justify the High Court in quashing the proceeding in the interest of justice and that the ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law though justice had got to be administered according to laws made by the legislature. This Court said that the c....
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....discussion, we hold that the High Court in exercise of its inherent powers can quash criminal proceedings or FIR or complaint and Section 320 of the Code does not limit or affect the powers under Section 482 of the Code." 10. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Nikhil Merchant (supra) has held as follows:- "7. In support of the aforesaid contentions made on behalf of the appellant before the High Court, reference was made to the decision of this Court in the case of Central Bureau of Investigation v. Duncans Agro Industries Ltd. (1996) 5 SCC 591 wherein on the basis of facts similar to the facts of this case, this Court had held that even if an offence of cheating is prima facie made out, such offence is a compoundable offence and compromise decrees passed in the suits instituted by the Bank, for all intents and purposes, amount to compounding of the offence of cheating. This Court accordingly, upheld the order of the High Court quashing the criminal complaint after the civil action had been compromised between the parties. 8. Apart from the said decision, reliance was also placed on another decision of this Court in the case of B.S. Joshi and Ors. v. Sta....
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....ndia v. Bhajan Lal (AIR 1992 SC 604 : 1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335). The said judgment appears to have been discussed by this Court in B.S. Joshi and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Anr. (2003) 4 SCC 675. Relevant paragraphs of B.S. Joshi's case (supra) are reproduced below: "2. The question that falls for determination in the instant case is about the ambit of the inherent powers of the High Courts Under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code) read with Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India to quash criminal proceedings. The scope and ambit of power Under Section 482 has been examined by this Court in a catena of earlier decisions but in the present case that is required to be considered in relation to matrimonial disputes. The matrimonial disputes of the kind in the present case have been on considerable increase in recent times resulting in filing of complaints by the wife Under Sections 498-A and 406 Indian Penal Code not only against the husband but his other family members also. When such matters are resolved either by the wife agreeing to rejoin the matrimonial home or mutual separation of husband and wife and also mutual settlement of other ....
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.... 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 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? 31. On an overall view of the facts as indicated hereinabove and keeping in mind the decision of this Court in B.S. Joshi case [(2003) 4 SCC 675], and the compromise arrived at between the Company and the Bank as also Clause 11 of the consent terms filed in the suit filed 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 c....
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....emerges from the above discussion can be summarized thus: the power of the High Court in quashing a criminal proceeding or FIR or complaint in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction is distinct and different from the power given to a criminal court for compounding the offences Under Section 320 of the Code. Inherent power is of wide plenitude with no statutory limitation but it has to be exercised in accord with the guideline engrafted in such power viz.:(i) to secure the ends of justice, or (ii) to prevent abuse of the process of any court. In what cases power to quash the criminal proceeding or complaint or FIR may be exercised where the offender and the victim have settled their dispute would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and no category can be prescribed. However, before exercise of such power, the High Court must have due regard to the nature and gravity of the crime. Heinous and serious offences of mental depravity or offences like murder, rape, dacoity, etc. cannot be fittingly quashed even though the victim or victim's family and the offender have settled the dispute. Such offences are not private in nature and have a serious impact on society. Simil....
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....uption Act, cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and other similar kind of offences in which punishment of life imprisonment or death can be awarded. After considering the facts and circumstances of the present case, we are of the view that learned Single Judge did not commit any error of law in quashing the FIR after not only the complainant and the Appellant settled their money dispute but also the other alleged sufferers entered into an agreement with the Appellant, and as such, they too settled their claims. 12. As far as composition of offences under Sections 307 and 506 I.P.C. is concerned, the judgment of Narinder Singh and others v. State of Punjab and another reported in 2014 (6) SCC 466, has held that though the offence under Section 307 I.P.C. is serious enough, it will not be compoundable under Section 320 Cr.P.C. and it will not oust the powers of the Superior Courts exercising the powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to compound the offences, depending upon certain terms and conditions laid thereof. 13. The impact of the powers of the Superior Courts under Section 482 Cr.P.C. have been considered by this Court in a judgment rendered on 28th Sep....
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...., was registered as Criminal Case No. 3577/2016 'State v. Pan Singh Rana', on which, after submission of charge-sheet, the summoning order was issued on 15.09.2016. Consequently, the present C482 Application has been preferred questioning the summoning order dated 15.09.2016, Charge-Sheet No. 69A/16 dated 03.09.2016 as well as the entire criminal proceedings, pending before IInd Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate. The applicant has sought the following relief: "It is, therefore, Most Respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to quash/set-aside charge-sheet dated 29.08.2016 as well as the summoning order dated 05.09.2016 passed by the learned IInd Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dehradun in Criminal Case No. 3577/2016 (State v. Pan Singh Rana) (Case Crime No. 111/2016), under Sections 307, 506 of I.P.C. registered at Police Station - Raipur, District - Dehradun and further to quash the entire proceedings of the aforesaid Criminal Case No. 3577/2016 (State v. Pan Singh Rana) (Case Crime No. 111/2016), under sections 307, 506 of I.P.C. registered at Police Station - Raipur, District-Dehradun pending in the court of learned IInd ....
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....;रधारा रेसीडेन्सी सहस्त्रधारा रोड, देहरादून। ..........प्रथमपक्ष एवं श्री पान सिंह राणा पुत्र श्री आलम सिंह राणा आबकारी सिपाही डण्डा लखौण्ड सैक्टर प्रथम, देहरादून डाल पता- 131 साँबोवाली पो.ओ. कण्डोली जिला ..........- द्वि&....
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....#2358; एक प्रथम सूचना रिपोर्ट मुकदमा अपराध संख्या - 116 / 17 थाना रायपुर में पंजीकृत करा रखी है। यह कि वर्तमान में आपसी जान पहचान / मित्रगणों द्वारा पक्षकारों के मध्य आपसी समझौता करा दिया है तथा समस्त गलतफहमियां दूर क&#....
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....l fire at spur of moment due to heated reaction in fact there was no intention as such to inflict injury on respondent no. 2, and also considering the fact that both the parties unanimously agree that the C482 Application may be allowed. 6. Mr. Lalit Miglani, Brief Holder for the State, vehemently opposes the application for compounding on the ground that the offence under Section 307 of the I.P.C. is not such an offence which could be compounded under Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As it is a serious offence having grave implications and social impact and if it is permitted to be compounded, it will give a wrong message to society and may result in augmenting the crime. 7. Principally, there is no dispute with regard to the legal preposition, which has been argued by Mr. Lalit Miglani, learned Brief Holder for the State but, this Court cannot be oblivious of the fact that when there happens to be a joint affidavit filed by the parties, wherein, the complainant himself has submitted that he does not want to prosecute the applicant and, therefore, even then, if the parties to the dispute are forced to face the trial apart from the fact that it will ....
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..... In such a situation, where the Court exercise the power, obviously, the implication of Subsection (2) of Section 320 and Sub-section (9) of Section 320 of the Cr.P.C. has to be taken into consideration which limits the scope of exercise of powers by the Courts. But, a situation where the criminal disputes, irrespective of its nature of offences, its seriousness is being settled by the terms arrives at, the provisions contained under Section 320 of the Cr.P.C. is not to be strictly made applicable to athwart the settlement between the parties. Only rider which has been attached thereto which requires caution when the Courts are settling the disputes in relation to the offences which are of serious in nature, for example Sections 302, 306, 307 and 376 I.P.C., and such other sexual offences, the Court's will have to consider to attract its inherent power depending upon the material and the nature of the offences which is under consideration to be settled in terms of the compromise. There cannot be any strait jacketed formula for deciding the criminal controversy between the parties based on the settlement as each settlement has its own facts and nature of offence and the circums....
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.... the victim has settled the dispute with the offenders does not derive his prosecution. Thus, the basic intention for settling the heinous offences, which includes the offences under Sections 307, 306 and 376 I.P.C., it should not be forced upon to be continued by denial of settlement on a technical ground of implications of Sub-section (9) of Section 320 and Sub-section (2) of Section 320 of the Cr.P.C. so that ultimately on the culmination of the proceedings of the trial, it may not result to be a proceeding of futility. 11. There is another aspect to be taken care of, as already observed, the High Courts when it exercises the power under Section C-482 Cr.P.C. and under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, the High Courts have to apply the rationale approach which is not to be restricted in a concise manner because apart from the fact that it has to ensure that it meets the ends of justice, rather also that High Court has to ensure that such concised interpretation does not lead to the abuse of process. The Court (in particular High Court) will also have to consider that if such type of settlement voluntarily entered between the parties, expressing their unrest....
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....ublic and consist in wrongdoing that seriously endangers and threatens the well-being of the society and it is not safe to leave the crime-doer only because he and the victim have settled the dispute amicably or that the victim has been paid compensation, yet certain crimes have been made compoundable in law, with or without the permission of the court. In respect of serious offences like murder, rape, dacoity, etc., or other offences of mental depravity under IPC or offences of moral turpitude under special statutes, like the Prevention of Corruption Act or the offences committed by public servants while working in that capacity, the settlement between the offender and the victim can have no legal sanction at all. However, certain offences which overwhelmingly and predominantly bear civil flavour having arisen out of civil, mercantile, commercial, financial, partnership or such like transactions or the offences arising out of matrimony, particularly relating to dowry, etc. or the family dispute, where the wrong is basically to the victim and the offender and the victim have settled all disputes between them amicably, irrespective of the fact that such offences have not been made c....
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....ere the wrong is basically private or personal in nature and the parties have resolved their entire dispute. In this category of cases, the High Court may quash the criminal proceedings if in its view, because of the compromise between the offender and the victim, the possibility of conviction is remote and bleak and continuation of the criminal case would put the accused to great oppression and prejudice and extreme injustice would be caused to him by not quashing the criminal case despite full and complete settlement and compromise with the victim. In other words, the High Court must consider whether it would be unfair or contrary to the interest of justice to continue with the criminal proceeding or continuation of the criminal proceeding would tantamount to abuse of process of law despite settlement and compromise between the victim and the wrongdoer and whether to secure the ends of justice, it is appropriate that the criminal case is put to an end and if the answer to the above question(s) is in the affirmative, the High Court shall be well within its jurisdiction to quash the criminal proceeding." 13. The Hon'ble Apex Court has held that settlement of criminal d....
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....he power but rather it is the power which intends to safeguards the abuse which may occur on account of enforceability of other provisions under the Code, and is spirited to meet the ends of justice in its wider social implication. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Gian Singh (Supra), in its para 53 and 54 has held as under:- "53. Section 482 of the Code, as its very language suggests, saves the inherent power of the High Court which it has by virtue of it being a superior court to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. It begins with the words, "nothing in this Code" which means that the provision is an overriding provision. These words leave no manner of doubt that none of the provisions of the Code limits or restricts the inherent power. The guideline for exercise of such power is provided in Section 482 itself i.e. to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. As has been repeatedly stated that Section 482 confers no new powers on the High Court; it merely safeguards existing inherent powers possessed by the High Court necessary to prevent abuse of the process of any court....
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....an body, other than murder and culpable homicide, they can be permitted to be compounded when the Courts on the basis of material on record, forms an opinion in terms of the settlement between the parties that such a settlement, when it is fair not ill motivated and voluntary, it could be compounded. In addition to it, there is another test which has to be considered is that such type of terms of settlement for a heinous offence, resulting to bodily injury, each terms of settlement has to satisfy the conscious of the Courts and it has to be seen that it has been fairly arrived at without any duress or oppression being made by the offenders on the victim taking advantage of its autocratic capacity on the victim and also it has to be seen that as to whether the weak victim have not been made vulnerable to the powers of the superiors. This judgment, too, has provided that the only factors to be considered by the High Court under C-482 Cr.P.C. is to prevent the abuse of the process of any Court and to secure the ends of justice, uphold law its intentions, under a given set of circumstances amongst the parties. 18. An issue which crops up for consideration before this Court at ....
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....se is abhorrent to lawful composition of the society or would promote savagery." 19. In view of what has been discussed, it could be said that the power of compounding on one hand under Section 320 Cr.P.C., and quashing of the criminal proceedings, charge sheets, summoning orders or compounding of offence based on settlement in exercise of inherent powers are not to be treated as synonymous to one other but only has to be restricted by the condition precedent to satisfy the criteria of these two different and distinct aspects of law for compounding of an offence so as to render substantial justice. What is to be seen is also important, as to the communality, its harmony of the offence which is to be settled in the exercise of powers in favour of the accused persons. This Court is of the view that if there are sufficient element available that the settlement was fairly entered into without any oppression being exercised as against the victim, and it ultimately results into resolving this discord amongst the parties to a lis, the bar of Sub-section (9) of Section 320 Cr.P.C. for composition of an offence would not come into play when the Court exercises its inherent powers u....
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....wers under Section 482 CrPC and the powers conferred on the High Courts and the Supreme Court under Articles 226 and 136 of the Constitution of India. Referring to the decision of this Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal this Court observed that the categories indicated in the said case which warranted exercise of power under Section 482 CrPC were only illustrative and not exhaustive. This Court ultimately held that the High Court in exercise of its inherent powers can quash criminal proceedings or an FIR or complaint and Section 320 CrPC does not limit or affect the power of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code." 22. The High Court in the exercise of its power under Section 482 quashes a criminal proceeding having regard to the fact of each case that dispute between the offender and victim stood settled. It does so, as in its opinion, continuation of criminal proceedings will be an exercise in futility and justice in the case demands that the dispute between the parties is put to an end and peace amongst parties is restored; securing the ends of justice being the ultimate guiding factor for administration of justice. It is an inevitable conclusion that crimes ....
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....h a power. 10. In State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy & Ors. [(1977) 2 SCC 699], considering the scope of inherent power of quashing under Section 482, this Court held that in the exercise of this wholesome power, the High Court is entitled to quash proceedings if it comes to the conclusion that ends of justice so require. It was observed that in a criminal case, the veiled object behind a lame prosecution, the very nature of the material on which the structure of the prosecution rests and the like would justify the High Court in quashing the proceeding in the interest of justice and that the ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law though justice had got to be administered according to laws made by the legislature. This Court said that the compelling necessity for making these observations is that without a proper realization of the object and purpose of the provision which seeks to save the inherent powers of the High Court to do justice between the State and its subjects, it would be impossible to appreciate the width and contours of that salient jurisdiction. On facts, it was also noticed that there was no reasonable likelihood of the accused being convicted....
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....on Territory through Administrator, UT, Chandigarh and others reported in (2013) 11 SCC 497. This was a case where the offence which was considered to be compounded was at a stage when after submission of the report under Section 173 of the Cr.P.C., the charges were already framed in relation to the offences as involved therein, being the offences covered by Sections 147, 148, 149, 323, 307, 452 and 506 I.P.C. Widely it involved the offences with which we are concerned partially in the present matter and other connected cases. Primarily, the said judgment which was dealing with the powers for compounding the offence under Section 307 I.P.C. has derived the ratio and distinction which has been laid down in the case of Gian Singh (Supra) regarding the inherent powers and powers given under statute under Section 320 Cr.P.C. and has held out that even the offences as narrated therein whichever is inclusive of offence under Section 307 IPC, would be compoundable though not covered by Section 320 of the Cr.P.C. Para 8 of the judgment of Dimpey Gujral (Supra) reads as under:- "8. In the light of the above observations of this Court in Gian Singh, we feel that this is a c....
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.... in writing or by way of affidavit, when it results into futile exercise on culmination of the criminal proceedings and, 6. Lastly, when in an event of declining to accept such settlement covering the aforesaid condition would result into unnecessary wastage of time of the Court as well as the Investigating Agency and would cause unnecessary hardship and wastage of time to the parties to the dispute. 27. These are the wider governing factors, which have to be borne in mind by the High Court when even serious offence like that of 307 IPC, which happens to be in the instant case, is sought to be compounded. The High Courts before whom such an application for composition of offence comes for consideration, based on the settlement, the High Court is not denuded of its powers to consider its propriety while exercising its inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C., which will not be eclipsed and overridden by the restriction of Sub-section (9) of Section 320 of the Cr.P.C. because Section 320 itself as already observed above, it will not in view of language used under Section 320 Cr.P.C. which has an overriding effect, derived power of the Court to decide application fo....
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....rime is to act as a deterrent for the people at large and hence, in para 17 of the Narendra Singh Case (Supra), it has been dealt with as under:- "17. We would like to expand this principle in some more detail. We find, in practice and in reality, after recording the conviction and while awarding the sentence/punishment the court is generally governed by any or all or combination of the aforesaid factors. Sometimes, it is the deterrence theory which prevails in the minds of the court, particularly in those cases where the crimes committed are heinous in nature or depict depravity, or lack morality. At times it is to satisfy the element of "emotion" in law and retribution/vengeance becomes the guiding factor. In any case, it cannot be denied that the purpose of punishment by law is deterrence, constrained by considerations of justice. What, then, is the role of mercy, forgiveness and compassion in law? These are by no means comfortable questions and even the answers may not be comforting. There may be certain cases which are too obvious, namely, cases involving heinous crime with element of criminality against the society and not parties inter se. In such cases, the deterre....
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....9;ble Apex Court while drawing a distinction as against the ratio laid down in the case of Rajendra Harakchand Bhandari v. State of Maharashtra reported in (2011) 13 SCC 311 and in the case of Shiji Alias Pappu and others v. Radhika and another, reported in (2011) 10 SCC 705 and in the case of State of Rajasthan v. Shambhu Kewat and another reported in (2014) 4 SCC 149, where these judgments have invariably held that the offence under Section 307 I.P.C. since being non-compoundable offence covered by the Subsection (9) of Section 320 Cr.P.C would not be compoundable. Considering the ratio of making the offence as not compoundable, irrespective of the settlement arrived at between the parties, the Hon'ble Apex Court in Narinder Singh (Supra) has drawn a distinction from the aforesaid judgment and has deviated to lay down the ratio that even the offence under Section 307 I.P.C., though heinous in nature, though at times it may be a social offence, but, the same would still be dependent upon its own facts and circumstances which is the prerogative of the Court to consider in each case when the same is being decided on the basis of the settlement while exercising its plenary powers....
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....be a general discussion in this behalf as well, the matter is examined in the context of the offences under Section 307 IPC." 31. On a wider principle, the aspects which are to be considered while dealing with the composition of offence is to be based on the terms of settlement, its spirit of amicable settlement and also the intention of the parties to bury their hatchet to live in harmony. This has also to be considered with regard to the advantageous or disadvantageous situation of the parties, their social status, their mental status, to understand their well being, the circumstance under which the offence has been committed and basically the intention of such settlement to establish harmony and restoring friendly ties between the offenders and it does not intent to defeat the process of law and the victim. The issue which crops as to when the party is in such a situation when they inspires to settle their score, whether the law and the Court should create a hurdle by giving its immature opinion to the settlement? Thus, Narinder Singh case (Supra), in para 26 has laid down the circumstances for deciding the dispute, based on the settlement in relation to the heinous cri....
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....rties and exercising its power under Section 482 of the Code while accepting the settlement and quashing the proceedings or refusing to accept the settlement with direction to continue with the criminal proceedings: 29.1. Power conferred under Section 482 of the Code is to be distinguished from the power which lies in the Court to compound the offences under Section 320 of the Code. No doubt, under Section 482 of the Code, the High Court has inherent power to quash the criminal proceedings even in those cases which are not compoundable, where the parties have settled the matter between themselves. However, this power is to be exercised sparingly and with caution. 29.2. When the parties have reached the settlement and on that basis petition for quashing the criminal proceedings is filed, the guiding factor in such cases would be to secure: (i) ends of justice, or (ii) to prevent abuse of the process of any court. While exercising the power the High Court is to form an opinion on either of the aforesaid two objectives. 29.3. Such a power is not to be exercised in those prosecutions which involve heinous and serious offences of mental depra....
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....At this stage, the Court can also be swayed by the fact that the settlement between the parties is going to result in harmony between them which may improve their future relationship. 29.7. While deciding whether to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Code or not, timings of settlement play a crucial role. Those cases where the settlement is arrived at immediately after the alleged commission of offence and the matter is still under investigation, the High Court may be liberal in accepting the settlement to quash the criminal proceedings/investigation. It is because of the reason that at this stage the investigation is still on and even the charge-sheet has not been filed. Likewise, those cases where the charge is framed but the evidence is yet to start or the evidence is still at infancy stage, the High Court can show benevolence in exercising its powers favourably, but after prima facie assessment of the circumstances/material mentioned above. On the other hand, where the prosecution evidence is almost complete or after the conclusion of the evidence the matter is at the stage of argument, normally the High Court should refrain from exercising its power under Sec....
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....We notice from a reading of the FIR and the other documents on record that the dispute was purely a personal one between two contesting parties and that it arose out of extensive business dealings between them and that there was absolutely no public policy involved in the nature of the allegations made against the accused. We are, therefore, of the opinion that no useful purpose would be served in continuing with the proceedings in the light of the compromise and also in the light of the fact that the complainant has on 11-1-2004 passed away and the possibility of a conviction being recorded has thus to be ruled out." It is rather postulated that whenever the Court comes to the conclusion that the offence has the private element, it has to liberally exercise its power while settling the dispute based on the compromise. 34. A similar preposition pertaining to the composition of an offence under Section 482 Cr.P.C. and Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India, has been laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Gold Quest International Private Limited v. State of Tamil Nadu and others reported in (2014) 15 SCC 235. Para 8 of the said judgment reads a....
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....h it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised. (1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused. (2) Where the allegations in the first information report and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155(2) of the Code. (3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and make out a case against the accused. (4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police office....
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....le exercising its jurisdiction. Para 22, 26 and 28 of the judgment of Pepsi Foods Ltd. (Supra) read as under:- "22. It is settled that the High Court can exercise its power of judicial review in criminal matters. In State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal this Court examined the extraordinary power under Article 226 of the Constitution and also the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which it said could be exercised by the High Court either to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. While laying down certain guidelines where the court will exercise jurisdiction under these provisions, it was also stated that these guidelines 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. One of such guidelines is where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a ca....
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....cceed in bringing charge home to the accused. It is not that the Magistrate is a silent spectator at the time of recording of preliminary evidence before summoning of the accused. The Magistrate has to carefully scrutinise the evidence brought on record and may even himself put questions to the complainant and his witnesses to elicit answers to find out the truthfulness of the allegations or otherwise and then examine if any offence is prima facie committed by all or any of the accused." 37. In the matter of Madhu Limaye v. State of Maharashtra reported in (1977) 4 SCC 551, the Court has laid down that Section 320 Cr.P.C. would not create a bar for the exercise of powers by the High Courts for quashing of a proceedings, summoning order or the charge sheet without being affected by the powers under Section 320 Cr.P.C. and it would exclusively be governed by the factors depending upon the circumstances of each case. 38. A harmonious interpretation can also be discerned from the ratio laid down by the Apex Court in the judgment of B.S. Joshi and others v. State of Haryana and another reported in (2003) 4 SCC 675. Para 5, 6, 8 and 15 of the said judgment reads as unde....
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....ted in Section 482 of the Code or extraordinary power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. We are, therefore, of the view that if for the purpose of securing the ends of justice, quashing of FIR becomes necessary, Section 320 would not be a bar to the exercise of power of quashing. It is, however, a different matter depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case whether to exercise or not such a power. 15. In view of the above discussion, we hold that the High Court in exercise of its inherent powers can quash criminal proceedings or FIR or complaint and Section 320 of the Code does not limit or affect the powers under Section 482 of the Code." Hence, on considering the aforesaid prepositions, it can be safely concluded that in view of the language used in the provisions contained under Section 482 Cr.P.C., which confers the inherent power to the High Courts, cannot be limited by the provisions contained under Section 320 Cr.P.C. as they being the plenary power and independent to Section 320 Cr.P.C and will not be eclipsed by the restrictions of sub-Section (9) of Section 320 of the Cr.P.C. Hence, the composition for the heinous offence and, in....
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....Section 482 Cr.PC preserves the inherent powers of the High Court to prevent an abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice. The provision does not confer new powers. It only recognizes and preserves powers which inhere in the High Court. (2) The invocation of the jurisdiction of the High Court to quash a first information report or a criminal proceeding on the ground that a settlement has been arrived at between the offender and the victim is not the same as the invocation of jurisdiction for the purpose of compounding an offence. While compounding an offence, the power of the court is governed by the provisions of Section 320 Cr.P.C. The power to quash under Section 482 is attracted even if the offence is non-compoundable. (3) In forming an opinion whether a criminal proceeding or complaint should be quashed in exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the High Court must evaluate whether the ends of justice would justify the exercise of the inherent power. (4) While the inherent power of the High Court has a wide ambit and plentitude, it has to be exercised to secure the ends of justice and to prevent an abuse of th....