Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.482 – Quashing of FIR – Complainant alleged non-execution of a registered sale deed in terms of an oral agreement to sell against the appellants – FIR lodged as also suit for specific performance filed – Arrest of the appellants and subsequently released on bail – Appellants filed for quashing of FIR – High Court dismissed the petition without addressing the merits – Correctness:
Held: Complainant misused the process of police investigation so as to entangle the appellants in a totally false and frivolous prosecution – There is a drastic variance in the complainant’s allegations qua the oral agreement as narrated in the FIR vis-a-vis as set out in the plaint – Complainant manipulated and distorted the facts and used its influence for getting the FIR registered against the appellants – On a bare reading of the FIR, it is clear that a plain and simple dispute has been given the cloak of a criminal case by misusing the criminal machinery – Not only this, appellant no.1 being a 70 years’ old lady and wife of retired Army officer was arrested in connection with this false and frivolous FIR and had to remain in the custody for almost eight days – No justification for registering the FIR – In gross disregard to all tenets of law, the impugned FIR came to be registered for allegations which had no elements of any offence whatsoever what to talk of a cognizable offence – High Court acted with absolute pedantic approach, while disposing of the quashing petition filed by the appellants in the cryptic manner, without even touching the merits of the case – Appellants made fair offer to return the amount transferred to them by the complainant through valid banking transactions, however, the complainant refused for the same – Art.136 jurisdiction exercised – Impugned order and FIR quashed and set aside – Police protection to be provided to appellants whenever they go to Hyderabad for management of the properties – Complainant penalized with the exemplary cost for misusing the process of criminal law in a case of purely civil nature – Penal Code, 1860 – ss.406, 420 – Constitution of India – Art.136. [Paras 9-22]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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