TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (1) TMI 1518
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....ng the petition, held that the petition is premature and the same is filed even before the completion of the investigation. 3. Brief facts which led to the filing of this appeal are as under: The Appellant No. 1 and his wife Sakshi Jawa met with an accident with an auto rickshaw on 13.06.2013 at about 10.30 in the morning, while Sakshi Jawa was driving Maruti SX4 KA-03-MM-8646. One of the passengers, who was travelling by the auto, namely Mrs. Laxmi Ganapati, sustained injuries and she was duly admitted in the Santosh Hospital for treatment. Sakshi Jawa, the Appellant No. 2, is said to have paid all the hospital expenses of the injured and the matter is said to have been amicably settled between the injured and the Appellants and no FIR ....
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....n 482 Code of Criminal Procedure before the High Court seeking to quash the FIR and the criminal proceedings initiated against them on the ground that the complaint is an afterthought. The High court vide its Order dated 24.04.2014 dismissed the petition stating that the petition was filed at a premature stage. The Appellants by this special leave are seeking to assail the correctness of the above Order. 6. Learned Counsel for the Appellants contended that posting of a comment on the Facebook page of the traffic police does not amount to an offence Under Sections 353 and 506 Indian Penal Code and the FIR was not sustainable in law. It was submitted that Facebook page of the Bengaluru traffic police itself is a public forum meant for citi....
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....kely to be served by allowing a criminal prosecution to continue, the Court may quash the proceeding even though it may be at a preliminary stage. 10. In State of T.N. v. Thirukkural Perumal [(1995) 2 SCC 449] considering the scope of Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure to quash the FIR/criminal proceedings, this Court has held as under: ....The power of quashing an FIR and criminal proceeding should be exercised sparingly by the courts. Indeed, the High Court has the extraordinary or inherent power to reach out injustice and quash the first information report and criminal proceedings, keeping in view the guidelines laid down by this Court in various judgments (reference in this connection may be made with advantage to State ....
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....ing the materials available on record, it appears that no force was used by the Appellants to commit such an offence. There is absolutely nothing on record to show that the Appellants either assaulted the Respondents or used criminal force to prevent the second Respondent from discharging his official duty. Taking the uncontroverted allegations, in our view, that the ingredients of the offence Under Section 353 Indian Penal Code are not made out. 13. Section 506 Indian Penal Code prescribes punishment for the offence of criminal intimidation. "Criminal intimidation" as defined in Section 503 Indian Penal Code is as under: 503. Criminal Intimidation.- Whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property....
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.... any words without any intention to cause alarm would not be sufficient to bring in the application of this section. But material has to be placed on record to show that the intention is to cause alarm to the complainant. From the facts and circumstances of the case, it appears that there was no intention on the part of the Appellants to cause alarm in the minds of the second Respondent causing obstruction in discharge of his duty. As far as the comments posted on the Facebook are concerned, it appears that it is a public forum meant for helping the public and the act of Appellants posting a comment on the Facebook may not attract ingredients of criminal intimidation in Section 503 Indian Penal Code. 16. Of course, in exercise of its jur....