Point of Law: Power under Section 482 CrPC has to be exercised sparingly and cautiously to prevent abuse of process of any Court and to secure ends of justice.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner has preferred this writ petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashing the FIR No.288/2022 registered at Police Station Marwar Junction, District Pali for the offence under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B of IPC.

2. Brief facts of the case are that respondent-complainant has filed a written report before the SHO of Police Station Marwar Junction stating therein that father of the petitioner died on 29.09.2013, however, during his lifetime he had purchased 1/349 shares in the land situated in Khasra No.798 Rakba 3.8951 Hectare from the petitioner Kalu Ram by way of sale deed. Kalu Ram also executed power of attorney and will in favour of father of the complainant. However, after death of his father petitioner Kalu Ram sold the land on the basis of forged documents to one Mukesh Singh by way of power of attorney and said Mukesh Singh further sold the land to Pokar Ram by way of registered sale deed.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that a false FIR has been registered against the petitioner and as petitioner had executed the power of attorney of his own property and the complainant’s father died before execution of sale deed in his favour. Thus, the complainant only with a view to harass and pressurize the petitioner, filed the present FIR. Therefore, it is prayed that the FIR may be quashed.

4. Learned Public Prosecutor and learned counsel for the complainant have opposed the prayer made by the petitioner and submits that inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.c. can be exercised only in exceptional cases when the Court finds that from the allegation made in the FIR/complaint even prima facie no offence is made out against the accused but in the present case from the evidence collected during investigation, it cannot be said that no case is made out against the petitioner for offence under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC.

5. I have considered the arguments advanced before me and carefully gone through the record.

6. From the perusal of FIR, it is evident that complainant alleged that the petitioner had agreed to sale the land in dispute to the father of respondent no.2 however, after his death the petitioner sold the same land to another person and took the money. Therefore, at this stage it cannot be said that offences are not made out against the petitioner. In these circumstances, it can not be said that FIR is frivolous. Furthermore, FIR cannot be quashed.

7. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana & Ors. Vs. Choudhary Bhajanlal & Ors. : 1992 Suppl. (1) SCC 335], laid down guidelines for exercising inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash FIR and criminal proceedings. The Court held:

"102. In the backdrop of the interpretation of the various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which we have extracted and reproduced above, we give the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised.

1. Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima-facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.

2. Where the allegations in the first information report and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate