N.L.TIBREWAL, J. - (1.) This Larger Bench is required to answer the following questions of law referred to it :- i) Whether composition of offence/offences, except as provided by Section 320 Cr. P.C., can be permitted in exercise of powers under Section 482 Cr. P.C., specially when Sub-Section (9) of Section 320 Cr. P.C. expressly prohibits; ii) If the answer is given in affirmative, whether this permission can be granted after the conviction of the accused under the offence/offences which is/are not compoundable under Section 320 Cr. P.C. The necessity to answer second question shall arise only if question No. 1 is decided in the affirmative.
(2.) The relevant facts necessitating the reference are : The petitioner-Mohan Singh was convicted and sentenced by the trial Magistrate under Section 326 IPC to one year rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000.00 vide judgment dated 29/03/1985 for causing grievous injury to Gulab Singh. He preferred an appeal which was pending for disposal in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, District Jaipur. Before the appellate court, a compromise petition under Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was jointly filed by the petitioners i.e. the accused and the injured. But the prayer was declined by the learned Judge on the simple ground that the offence under Section 326 I.P.C. was not compoundable under Section 320 Cr. P.C. Thereafter, a joint petition by the accused and the injured has been filed before this Court under Section 482 Cr. P.C. with a prayer to direct the lower appellate court to permit them to compound the offence under Section 326 I.P.C. At the time of hearing of the petition before the single Judge, on the basis of a decision of this Court in Hari Narain v. State of Rajasthan, 1989 RCC 335, it was submitted that the permission to compound the offence under Section 326 IPC can be granted by this Court in exercise of its inherent power under Section 482 Cr. P.C. The single Judge, disagreeing with the view taken in Hari Narain's case (supra), requested the Hon'ble Chief Justice to constitute a Larger Bench for an authoritative judgment on the questions referred by him. In these circumstances, this Larger Bench has been constituted.
(3.) The Criminal Procedure Code is a procedural law which provides the procedure for all matters relating to investigation, inquiry and trial of criminal cases, as well as, other connected matters. The Criminal Procedure Code (Act 10) of 1882 consolidated the earlier Acts and prescribed an uniform law for all courts in India. It was superseded by Act 5 of 1898 and substantial changes were made by Acts of 18 of 1923 and 26 of 1955. There were also local Amendment Acts of several State Legislatures to bring about the separation of the judiciary from the executive. But no comprehensive revision of the old Code of 1898 was attempted until the Central Law Commission was set up in 1955 and it undertook the systematic examination of the Code. The new Code of 1973 is based on the recommendations of the Law Commission made in its comprehensive report for the revision of the Code, i.e. Forty-first Report. The new Code replaces the old Code of 1898. The new Code has been made exhaustive. A procedural Code however exhaustive, cannot expressly provide for all times to come against all the cases or points that may possibly arise, and in order that justice may not suffer, it is necessary that court must in proper cases exercise its inherent power for the ends of justice or for the purpose of carrying out the other provisions of the Code. Section 482 Cr. P.C. is a legislative recognition of the inherent power of the High Court. It does not confer any new or additional power as the principle upon which it is based was acted upon in many other earlier decisions. Inherent power is conferred under Section 482 Cr. P.C. only on the High Court in view of the general jurisdiction over all the criminal courts subordinate to it, in order to give effect to any order of any such courts under the Code, and to prevent abuse of the process of any such courts or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.;