Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: s. 482 – Saving of inherent powers of the High Court – Accused chargesheeted, on conclusion of the investigations by the CBI – Discharge applications by the two accused – Dismissed by the trial court, and thereafter, the High Court quashed the entire criminal proceedings in exercise of the powers u/s. 482 – On appeal, held: High Court exceeded in its jurisdiction in quashing the entire criminal proceedings in exercise of the limited powers u/s. 482 – At the stage of discharge and/or quashing of the criminal proceedings, while exercising the powers u/s. 482, the Court is not required to conduct the mini trial, it has very limited jurisdiction – High Court in the judgment and order held that the charges against the accused are not proved – This is not the stage where prosecution/investigating agency are required to prove the charges – Charges are required to be proved during the trial on the basis of the evidence led by the prosecution/investigating agency – Also, while exercising power u/s. 482 the High Court not required to consider whether the proceedings are malicious or not – Thus, the judgment and order passed by the High Court quashing the criminal proceedings against the accused is unsustainable and is quashed and set aside.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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