IMPORTANT POINTS
The police has investigated and submitted a refer report by itself would not make any difference in the legal position, in the exercise of jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. against a protest complaint. The issuance of notice to the defacto complainant on submission of refer report, is not only precautionary in its nature, but a mandate to be complied with before accepting a refer report.

ORDER :

Annexure A2 protest complaint and all further proceedings in C.C.No.166/2017 on the files of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam is sought to be quashed under Section 482 Cr.P.C.

2. Crime was registered on the allegation of offence punishable under Sections 409, 420 IPC against accused 1 to 5. Accused No.1 is a company based at Bombay and accused No.2 is the Managing Director. Accused No.3 is another company, a franchise under accused No.1. They were doing the business of canvassing deposits in the form of trading shares. Accused No. 4 and 5 are the stock brokers assisting accused Nos. 1 to 3. Earlier dividends were released in the year 2012. Again certain other deposits were made with the accused persons. For that also, dividends were released on few occasions. The allegation against accused Nos. 1 to 5 is that deposits were received with the intention to cause unlawful loss to the depositors including defacto complainant and unlawful gain to the accused by playing a device under the guise of shares. It is further alleged that dividends were released with the ultimate intention and purpose to further deceive and to avoid immediate action against the accused persons.

3. A final report was submitted against the defacto complainant which was objected by filing a protest complaint. It is at this stage some of the accused came up for quashing the protest complaint and further proceedings initiated based on it. The petitioners relied on the legal proposition laid down in paragraph 16 of the decision of this Court in Parameswaran Nair v. Surendran and another (2009 (1) KHC 801).

4. Principally, a right to file protest complaint against a refer report under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. is to secure justice and to prevent failure of justice in the hands of investigating officer or under a defective investigation. It is well recognized that the proceeding cannot be defeated or eschewed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. without satisfying an act of abuse of the process of court or existence of a necessity to secure the ends of justice. There cannot be any different treatment in the matter of exercise of jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. against a final report submitted under Section 173 Cr.P.C., an FIR registered or a protest complaint. The mere fact that the police has investigated and submitted a refer report by itself would not make any difference in the legal position, in the exercise of jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. against a protest complaint. The issuance of notice to the defacto complainant on submission of refer report, is not only precautionary in its nature, but a mandate to be complied with before accepting a refer report.

5. The inherent power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is not a remedy or solution for redressing all kinds of grievances. But it can be exercised sparingly so as to prevent abuse of the process of court or for securing ends of justice. While exercising inherent powers of High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C., it is not permissible to have a detailed enquiry or appreciation with respect to admissibility or sustainability of evidence collected or statement recorded during the course of investigation in the matter of a final report submitted or to go into each and every details of a complaint or FIR registered and availability of any valid defence to the accused. The existence of valid grounds of defence may not be by itself sufficient to exercise the inherent power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. It can be sparingly exercised only to prevent abuse of the process of court or to secure the ends of justice. The expression 'to secure the ends of justice' should not be misunderstood with any valid defence available, though wide jurisdiction given within the compass of Section 482 Cr.P.C.. The second limb of Section 482 Cr.P.C.-'to secure the ends of justice', can be exercised only when there is no provision for redressing the grievance of the aggrieved, which would otherwise result in injustice or illegality. Th