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Supreme Court of India
T.S. THAKUR & GYAN SUDHA MISRA, JJ.
C.P. Subhash – Appellant
Versus
Inspector of Police Chennai & Others – Respondents
Criminal Appeal No. 176 of 2013 (Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No.1962 of 2011)
Decided On : 23-01-2013
Facts of the Case :
A Complaint was filed by complainant herein in the instant case against respondents alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 468 and 471 of IPC. Petition thereagainst for quashing of FIR as also investigation in connection therewith was allowed by High Court.
B.Present appeal has been filed against said order of High Court.
Findings of the Court :
A.Instantly it could not be said that allegations made in the complaint did not constitute any offence or that the same did not prima facie allege the complicity of the persons accused of committing the same. The complaint filed by the appellant set out the relevant facts and alleged that the documents had been forged and fabricated only to be used as genuine to make a fraudulent and illegal claim over the land owned by complainant.
B. Equally untenable was the view taken by High Court that bar contained in Section 195(1)(b)(ii) could be attracted to the case at hand. Section 195(1)(b)(ii) Cr.P.C. was attracted only when the offences enumerated in the said provision have been committed with respect to a document after it has been produced or given in evidence in any court and during the time the same was in custodia legis. Bar contained in Section 195 against taking of cognizance was not attracted to the case at hand as sale deeds relied upon by GWL for claiming title to the property in question had not been forged while they were in custodia legis.
C. High Court held unjustified in quashing the FIR on the ground that the allegations did not constitute an offence even when the same were taken to be true in their entirety. It was also, wrong for the High Court to hold that the respondents were not the makers of the documents or that the filing of a civil suit based on the same would not constitute an offence. Whether or not the respondents had forged the documents and if so what offence was committed by the respondents was a matter for investigation which could not be prejudged or quashed by the High Court in exercise of its powers under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. or under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. .Impugned judgment of High Court was set aside. Appeal was allowed.
Result : Appeal allowed
Judgment :-
T.S. Thakur, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. This appeal arises out of a judgment and order dated 15th February, 2011 passed by the High Court of Madras whereby Criminal O.P.No.15917 of 2010 filed by respondents 2, 3 and 4 has been allowed, FIR No.41/10 dated 25th March, 2010 registered in Police Station Tambaram for offences punishable under Sections 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the ongoing investigation into the said FIR quashed.
3. The complainant-appellant in this appeal is the General Manager of SNP Ventures Pvt. Ltd. while respondents 2, 3 and 4 were during the relevant period working with M/s Gorden Woodroff Limited (for short 'GWL') as legal advisers/Senior Managers. GWL has, it appears, filed O.S. No.169 of 2008 before the District Court, Chengalpattu seeking a decree for declaration of its title qua 11.75 acres of land situated at Jameen Pallavaram Village, Tambaram in the State of Tamil Nadu. In support of its claim of ownership over the suit property GWL appears to be placing reliance upon two sale deeds one dated 10th March, 1922 (document No.1551 of 1922) and the other dated 27th June, 1922 (document No.1575 of 1922). SNP Ventures Pvt. Ltd. who claims to be in actual physical possession of the suit property in the meantime appears to have approached the Sub-Registrar's office at Saidapet to verify the genuineness of the two sale deeds relied upon by GWL. Verification revealed that both the sale deeds in question pertained to transactions between some private parties and had no connection whatsoever with GWL. The Sub-Registrar also informed the complainant that there was no transaction during the year 1922 in respect of the subject lands at Jameen Pallavaram.
4. It was on the basis of the above information that the complainant filed a complaint against the respondents alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 468 and 471 of the IPC. Crime No.41/10 was accordingly registered in the Central Crime Branch, Chennai Suburban, St. Thomas Mount for the said offences against respondents 2, 3 and 4. Aggrieved, the respondents filed Criminal O.P. No.15917 of 2010 for quashing of the FIR as also investigation in connection therewith which petition was heard and allowed by a Single Judge of the High Court of Madras by an order dated 15th February, 2011 quashing registration of the case as also the proceedings based on the same. The High Court called in aid two precise reasons for doing so. Firstly, the High Court held that the allegations made in the complaint even if accepted in their entirety did not prima facie constitute an offence or make out a case against the respondents herein. Secondly, the High Court held that no Court could, in view of the bar contained in Section 195 Cr.P.C., take cognizance of offences in question except on a complaint in writing made by the court or the public servant concerned. The present appeal assails the correctness of the said order passed, as already noticed above.
5. Appearing for the appellant, Mr. K.K. Venugopal, learned senior counsel, argued that the High Court had fallen in a palpable error in interfering with the ongoing investigation. The complaint filed by the appellant, argued the learned counsel, made specific allegations against the respondents which could not be brushed aside without a proper verification of the correctness thereof in the course of investigation. In support of his submission he placed reliance upon the decision of this Court in State of Karnataka and Anr. v. Pastor P.Raju (2006) 6 SCC 728. He urged that the High Court could not interfere with an ongoing investigation except under compelling circumstances or where the complaint did not make out any case even if the allegations made therein were taken at their face value. He further contended that the High Court was in error in relying upon Section 195 of Cr.P.C. while quashing the investigation. Section 195, argued Mr. Venugopal, was applicable to cases in which the alleged fabri
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