- (1.) BY way of this petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (for brevity, the Code), petitioners, the accused, in First Information Report (for short, FIR) No. 80 dated 22.8.2011 under Sections 420, 506, 120 -B of the Indian Penal Code (for short, the IPC), recorded at Police Station Jamalpur, District Ludhiana, seek quashing of the above FIR saying that the matter has been amicably settled between them and the complainant/ victim(s) as evidenced by the deed of compromise dated 12.9.2013( Annexure P2).
(2.) FIR was recorded on the written complaint of respondent No.2 and it was alleged therein that the parties have business dealings with each other. The petitioners had agreed to sell to respondent No.2 a wooden lot but after receipt of Rs. 1,73,91,790/ - as advance, the petitioner started dilly dallying the matter and it came out that the wooden lot did not belong to them. Now under the compromise, claim of the respondent No.2 has been satisfied.
(3.) WHILE issuing notice of motion, the Illaqa Magistrate was asked to record statements of the parties concerned to find out if the compromise is outcome of free will and consent of the parties and is free from any undue influence/pressure/coercion. The Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Ludhiana, has submitted a report dated 28.10.2013 affirming that the compromise is outcome of free will and consent of the parties and is free from any undue influence/pressure/coercion. The Complainant and the State counsel have no objection if the FIR and proceedings arising therefrom are quashed. Impressing upon the courts to promote settlements in matrimonial cases, Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Jitendra Raghuvanshi and Ors. Vs. Babita Raghuvanshi and Anr., 2013 4 AD(SC) 59 (decided On: 15.03.2013), ruled as under: "11. The inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code are wide and unfettered. In B.S. Joshi , this Court has upheld the powers of the High Court under Section 482 to quash criminal proceedings where dispute is of a private nature and a compromise is entered into between the parties who are willing to settle their differences amicably. We are satisfied that the said decision is directly applicable to the case on hand and the High Court ought to have quashed the criminal proceedings by accepting the settlement arrived at. 12. In our view, it is the duty of the courts to encourage genuine settlements of matrimonial disputes, particularly, when the same are on considerable increase. Even if the offences are non -compoundable, if they relate to matrimonial disputes and the court is satisfied that the parties have settled the same amicably and without any pressure, we hold that for the purpose of securing ends of justice, Section 320 of the Code would not be a bar to the exercise of power of quashing of FIR, complaint or the subsequent criminal proceedings. 13. There has been an outburst of matrimonial disputes in recent times. The institution of marriage occupies an important place and it has an important role to play in the society. Therefore, every effort should be made in the interest of the individuals in order to enable them to settle down in life and live peacefully. If the parties ponder over their defaults and terminate their disputes amicably by mutual agreement instead of fighting it out in a court of law, in order to do complete justice in the matrimonial matters, the courts should be less hesitant in exercising its extraordinary jurisdiction. It is trite to state that the power Under Section482 should be exercised sparingly and with circumspection only when the court is convinced, on the basis of material on record, that allowing the proceedings to continue would be an abuse of the process of the court or that the ends of justice require that the proceedings ought to be quashed. We also make it clear that exercise of such power would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case and it has to be exercised in appropriate cases in order to do real and substantial justice for the administration of which alone the courts exist. It is the duty of the courts to encourage genuine settlements of matrimonial disputes and Section 482 of the Code enables the High Court and Article 142 of the Constitution enables this Court to pass such orders. 14. In the light of the above discussion, we hold that the High Court in exercise of its inherent powers can quash the criminal proceedings or FIR or complaint in appropriate cases in order to meet the ends of justice and Section 320 of the Code does not limit or affect the powers of the High Court Under Section 482 of the Code. Under these circumstances, we set aside the impugned judgment of the High Court dated 04.07.2012 passed in M.C.R.C. No. 2877 of 2012 and quash the proceedings in Criminal Case No. 4166 of 2011 pending on the file of Judicial Magistrate Class -I, Indore.";