JUDGEMENT
Amar Dutt, J. -
(1.)THE question which requires an answer of ours in this bunch of 12 cases reads thus:
Whether the High Court will be well within its powers to quash an FIR under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure if the parties had entered into a compromise and settled all their disputes.
The Background:
(2.)ON 30.8.2003, a Special Lok Adalat was held at Narnaul. Following 12 criminal cases, in which applications for recording of compromise and disposing them of came up for consideration:
(i) Criminal Misc No. 2578 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 279/337 IPC out of which Section 279 IPC is non -compoundable.
(ii) Criminal Misc No. 2579 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 457/380 IPC, which are non -compoundable.
(iii) Criminal Misc No. 2580 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 427/447/323/506/34 IPC out of which Section 506 IPC, if more than 7 years, is non -compoundable.
(iv) Criminal Misc. No. 2581 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 148/149/323/324/325 IPC out of which Section 148 IPC is non -compoundable.
(v) Criminal Misc. No. 2582 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 148/149/323/324/325 IPC out of which Section 148 IPC is non -compoundable.
(vi) Criminal Misc. No. 2583 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 323/325/506/34 IPC out of which Section 506 IPC if more than 7 years is non - compoundable.
(vii) Criminal Misc. No. 2584 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 279/337/338 IPC out of which Section 279 IPC is non -compoundable.
(viii) Criminal Misc. No. 2585 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 498A/406/506/34 IPC out of which Sections 498 -A and 506 IPC, if more than 7 years, are non -compoundable.
(ix) Criminal Misc. No. 2586 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 323/325/452/34 IPC out of which Section 452 IPC is non -compoundable.
(x) Criminal Misc. No. 2587 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 148/149/323/506 IPC out of which Sections 148 and 506 IPC, if more than 7 years, are non - compoundable.
(xi) Criminal Misc. No. 2588 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 148/149/323/506 IPC out of which Sections 148 and 506 IPC, if more than 7 years, are non -compoundable.
(xii) Criminal Misc. No. 2589 -M of 2004. Offences under Sections 148/149/323 IPC out of which Section 148 IPC is non -compoundable.
2.1 After the statement of the parties had been recorded, the following order was passed as per the directions of the Hon'ble Administrative Judge of Narnaul:
File taken up today in the Special Lok Adalat, Narnaul. Compromise filed. Statements of the parties recorded. File be sent to Hon'ble High Court for being put up before Hon'ble Mr. Justice V.K. Bali, Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, as desired.
2.2 Thereafter, the office registered the cases as indicated hereinbefore.
2.3 These cases eventually came up for hearing on 11.9.2003 before one of us (V.K. Bali, J.) who after adverting to the judgment of the Supreme Court in B.S. Joshi and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Anr. : 2003 (2) RCR (Crl.) 888 (SC) : JT 2003 (3) SC 277 : [AIR 2003 SC 1386 : (2003) 4 SCC 657], passed the following order:
This matter was put up in the Special Lok Adalat held at Narnaul on 30.8.2003. An application has been made by the complainant and the accused for recording compromise. Accused in this case has been challenged under Sections 279/337 IPC. Prima facie, it appears to me that out of the offences, mentioned above, Section 279 IPC is the only offence which is non -compoundable. However, the fact remains that the accused have been charged with petty offences, like, 279 and 337 IPC. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in a recent judgment in B.S. Joshi and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Anr., : JT 2003 (3) SC 277, has held that even where the offence may be non -compoundable but the parties have arrived at a compromise and settled all their disputes, the High Court would be well within its powers to quash the FIR, under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure It is no doubt true that the judgment in B.S. Joshi's case (supra) relates to offences connected with matrimonial disputes. However, it is worth examining as to whether, when the parties may have compromised the matter and settled all their disputes, it would be within the jurisdiction of High Court under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure to quash the FIR. I may mention that settlement of disputes brings amity between the parties and if, despite such a compromise, the dispute may linger on, same may result into commission of further offences by either of the parties involved in the dispute. Further, once the parties have settled their disputes, continuances of the trial would be mere wastage of (time) of the Court and the parties, who would have continued financial burden as well. The trial, in the circumstances, as referred to above, shall also be a mock one.
The application for compromise be put up on judicial side by treating the same as a petition under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing the FIR, before an appropriate Bench, after obtaining necessary orders of Hon'ble the Chief Justice.
Inasmuch as this case was put up before the Special Lok Adalat and the Court is of the opinion that the matter be put up on judicial side, if there be requirement of giving legal assistance to the parties, same may be provided by the Haryana State Legal Services Authority, Chandigarh.
Since the judicial file has been sent to this Court in original, an intimation of this order be sent to the concerned trial Magistrate.
2.4 The office placed the records before the administrative side of one of us (the Chief Justice). The cases were referred to a Division Bench. Thereafter, the cases were directed to be placed before this Full Bench.
Lest the stand point of the applicants went unrepresented, we had requested Shri R.S. Cheema, Senior Advocate, Smt. Charu Tuli, Senior Deputy Advocate General, Punjab, Shri Jaswant Singh, Senior Deputy Advocate General, Haryana and Shri Ajai Lamba, Standing Counsel for Union Territory, Chandigarh, to assist us.
3.1 These learned Counsel have during the course of arguments dealt with remarkable felicity all the aspects involved in the cases.
3.2 We perused the record.
The Findings:
(3.)THE facts are not in dispute. The Special Lok Adalat at Narnaul had before it 12 applications moved in criminal cases, in which the accused were alleged to have committed the offences that were not compoundable, for bringing on record the fact that the parties in each one of these cases had sorted out their differences. Apart from Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short "the Code"), Sub -clause (1) of Section 320 of the Code, which specifies the cases that according to the Code, are compoundable and sub - Clause (2) thereof lists the offences, which are compoundable with the permission of the Court, Section 320(9) of the Code makes all other cases being tried by a criminal Court non -compoundable.