Allahabad High Court
Mohd. Yaqoob And Another vs State Of U.P. And Another on 12 October, 2023
Bench: Dinesh Pathak
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:197862
Court No. - 90
Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 2993 of 2022
Applicant :- Mohd. Yaqoob And Another
Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another
Counsel for Applicant :- Deepak Kumar Tripathi
Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Dinesh Pathak,J.
1. Supplementary affidavit filed today on behalf of the applicants is taken on record.
2. Heard learned counsel for the applicants, learned opposite party No. 2, learned AGA and perused the record.
3. The present applicants have invoked the inherent power of this Court under Section 482 CrPC beseeching the quashing of charge sheet dated 4.8.2017 as well as entire criminal proceeding of Sessions Trial No. 197 of 2018 (State Vs. Yakoob and others) arising out of the Case Crime No. 838 of 2017, under Sections 336, 323, 504, 506, 324 & 308 IPC, Police Station Dudhara, District Sant Kabir Nagar pending before District and Sessions Judge, Sant Kabir Nagar on the basis of compromise.
4. Opposite Party No. 2 (first informant) has lodged an FIR with an allegation that the present accused (applicants herein) along with two other persons came at his door step and badly beaten him up and his nephew inflicting grievous injuries. The Investigating Officer, after due investigation, submitted charge sheet arraigning present applicants. Remaining two accused were exonerated. During pendency of the case, both the parties have amicably settled their dispute and arrived at compromise. On the request made on behalf of the learned counsel for the parties, this Court, having considered the compromise took place between the parties, vide order dated 18.5.2022, has referred the matter before the trial court for verification of the compromise allegedly took place between the parties. For ready reference, the order dated 18.5.2022 is quoted hereinbelow:-
"Mr. Ajai Kumar Mishra, Advocate has filed Vakalatnama on behalf of opposite party no. 2 today in Court is taken on record.
Heard learned counsel for applicants, learned A.G.A. for the State and learned counsel for opposite party no. 2 and perused the material available on record.
By means of this petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the petitioners have prayed following reliefs:-
"to quash the impugned charge sheet dated 4.8.2017 as well as entire proceedings of Sessions Trial No. 197 of 2018 arising out of case crime no. 838 of 2017 under Sections 336, 323, 504, 506, 324, 308 I.P.C. Police Station- Dudhara, District- Sant Kabir Nagar."
Learned counsel for petitioners submits that petitioners and opposite party no. 2 have decided to settle their dispute with mutual understanding.
Learned counsel appearing for opposite party no. 2 does not dispute the correct of the dispute.
Accordingly, it is provided that the parties shall appear before the before the District and Sessions Judge, Sant Kabir Nagar along with a certified copy of this order on 26.5.2022 and be permitted to file an application for verification of the original compromise document. It is expected that the court below may verify the compromise entered into between the parties and pass an appropriate order with respect to the verification. Upon due verification, the court below may pass appropriate order in that regard and send verification report to this Court before the next date of listing of the case.
List this case in the week commencing 4.7.2022 along with verification report.
Till then no coercive measure shall be taken against the petitioners."
5. It appears that parties could not present before the court below in time as directed above, therefore, by subsequent order dated 29.5.2023 passed by this Court, parties were directed to appear before the court below on 7.6.2023 along with compromise deed. In pursuance of the order passed by this Court, learned Incharge Sessions Judge, Sant Kabir Nagar has submitted a verification report dated 28.6.2023 along with copy of the compromise application as well as compromise verification order dated 7.6.2023. A certified copy of the compromise application and certified copy of the compromise verification order dated 7.6.2023 have collectively been filed as Annexure No. SA-1 to the supplementary affidavit filed today.
6. A perusal of the verification report dated 28.6.2023 and the compromise verification order dated 7.6.2023 reveals that both the parties (first informant, victim and both the accused) have appeared before the court concerned personally and have been identified by their respective counsel. Terms and conditions of the compromise have been spelt out to the parties, who have admitted the factum of the compromise. Parties have stated that they have voluntarily entered into compromise without any coercion and duress and, accordingly, the compromise has been verified in the presence of parties.
7. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that, in the above eventuality of the compromise took place between the parties and the compromise verification report, the instant application may be allowed and the criminal proceeding initiated against the present applicants may be quashed. It is further submitted that both the parties have buried the hatchet and there is no grudges between them against each other. To quash the cognizance order as well as criminal proceeding, learned counsel for the applicant has relied upon the following judgments of the Hon'ble Apex Court :-
(i) B.S.Joshi & Others Vs. State of Haryana & Others; (2003) 4 SCC 675.
(ii) Nikhil Merchant Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation; (2008) 9 SCC 667.
(iii) Manoj Sharma Vs. State & Others; (2008) 16 SCC 1.
(iv) Gyan Singh Vs. State of Punjab (2012) 10 SCC 303.
(v) Narindra Singh & Others Vs. State of Punjab (2014) 6 SCC 466.
8. In a recent judgment passed by a Three Judges' Bench of the Apex Court in the Case of Parbatbhai Aahir alias Parbatbhai Bhimsinhbhai Karmur and others Vs. State of Gujarat and another, reported in AIR 2017 SC 4843, Hon'ble Supreme Court has summarized the ratio of all the cases decided earlier with respect to quashing of F.I.R./charge-sheet/criminal proceeding on the ground of settlement between the parties and expounded the ten categories in which application under Section 482 could be entertained for quashing the F.I.R./charge-sheet/criminal proceeding on the basis of compromise. Para no. 15 of the said judgement summarizing the proposition in this respect is reproduced below:-
"15. (i) Section 482 preserves the inherent power 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 recognises and preserves powers which inhere in the High Court;
(ii) 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 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The power to quash under Section 482 is attracted even if the offence is non-compoundable.
(iii) In forming an opinion whether a criminal proceeding or compliant should be quashed in exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 482, the High Court must evaluate whether the ends of justice would justify the exercise of the inherent power;
(iv) While the inherent power of the High Court has a wide ambit and plenitude it has to be exercised;(i) to secure the ends of justice or (ii) to prevent an abuse of the process of any court;
(v) The decision as to whether a complaint or First Information Report should be quashed on the ground that the offender and victim have settled the dispute, revolves ultimately on the facts and circumstances of each case and no exhaustive elaboration of principles can be formulated;
(vi) In exercise of the power under Section 482 and while dealing with a plea that the dispute has been settled, the High Court must have due regard to the nature and gravity of the offence. Heinous and serious offences involving mental depravity or offences such as murder, rape and dacoity cannot approximately be quashed though the victim or the family of the victim have settled the dispute. Such offences are, truly speaking, not private in nature but have a serious impact upon society. The decision to continue with the trial in such cases is founded on the overriding element of public interest in punishing persons for serious offences;
(vii) As distinguished from serious offences, there may be criminal cases which have an overwhelming or predominant element of a civil dispute. They stand on a distinct footing insofar as the exercise of the inherent power to quash is concerned;
(viii) Criminal cases involving offences which arise from commercial, financial, mercantile, partnership or similar transactions with an essentially civil flavour may in appropriate situations fall for quashing where parties have settled the dispute;
(ix) In such a case, the High Court may quash the criminal proceeding if in view of the compromise between the disputants, the possibility of a conviction is remote and the continuation of a criminal proceeding would cause oppression and prejudice; and
(x) There is yet an exception to the principle set out in propositions (viii) and (ix) above. Economic offences involving the financial and economic well-being of the state have implications which lie beyond the domain of a mere dispute between private disputants. The High Court would be justified in declining to quash where the offender is involved in an activity akin to a financial or economic fraud or misdemeanour. The consequences of the act complained of upon the financial or economic system will weigh in the balance."
9. Learned AGA has no objection, in case, the instant application is decided by this Court on the basis of compromise took place between the parties, which is duly verified by the court concerned.
10. Learned counsel for the opposite party No. 2 has nodded the factum of the compromise entered into between the parties and he has no objection, if the instant application is decided finally on the basis of the said compromise. He also submits that compromise was verified in presence of both the parties, who have voluntarily entered into compromise and opposite party no. 2 does not wants to prosecute the present case against the applicant any more as no dispute remains between the parties.
11. Having considered the compromise verification report dated 28.6.2023, compromise verification order dated 7.6.2023 and with the assistance of the aforesaid guidelines, keeping in view the nature of gravity and severity of the offence, which are more particular in private dispute, it is deemed proper that in order to meet the ends of justice, the present proceeding should be quashed. In result, dispute between the parties will put to an end, peace will be resorted and relationship between them will be smooth. No useful purpose would be served to keep the present matter pending inasmuch as both the parties have buried the hatchet and as the time passes, it will be difficult to prove the guilt of the accused. The continuation of criminal proceeding would cause oppression and prejudice.
12. In view of the aforesaid pronouncements of the Hon'ble Apex Court and in the light of the compromise arrived at between the parties, which has been duly verified by the concerned court below, the present application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is hereby allowed. The entire criminal proceeding of the aforementioned case is hereby quashed.
13. Let a copy of the order be transmitted to the concerned lower Court for necessary action.
Order Date :- 12.10.2023
vinay
