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2025 Supreme(HP) 952

IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAKESH KAINTHLA
Hem Raj – Appellant
Versus
State of H.P. – Respondent


Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioners:Mr. Rakesh Chauhan, Advocate.
For the Respondents:Mr Jitender K. Sharma, Additional Advocate General, Mr. Tara Singh Chauhan, Senior Advocate with Mr. Surya Chauhan, Advocate.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

  1. The court emphasizes that at the stage of considering a petition for quashing an FIR, it cannot assess the truthfulness or falsity of the allegations made in the FIR. The primary consideration is whether the FIR discloses a prima facie case for proceeding with the investigation or trial (!) .

  2. The decision to quash an FIR is governed by well-established principles, including whether the allegations, even if accepted at face value, do not constitute any offence or do not disclose a cognizable offence, or if the allegations are inherently improbable or absurd (!) (!) (!) .

  3. The court cannot delve into the veracity of the allegations or consider additional evidence or documents filed by the parties at this stage. It is only permitted to examine the FIR and the accompanying documents that are part of the investigation record (!) (!) .

  4. The existence of enmity or political vendetta alone does not justify quashing an FIR if there is sufficient material to proceed with the case. The focus remains on whether the FIR discloses a cognizable offence and whether there is adequate evidence to support further investigation (!) (!) (!) .

  5. The court reiterates that it cannot conduct a mini-trial or evaluate the credibility of the allegations during the quashing proceedings. The assessment is limited to whether the FIR, on its face, discloses a cognizable offence and whether continuing proceedings would amount to abuse of process (!) (!) (!) .

  6. Once a charge sheet has been filed, the appropriate forum for evaluating the evidence and allegations is the trial court. The court exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code should refrain from re-evaluating the evidence or conducting a mini-trial at the quashing stage (!) (!) .

  7. The court also notes that if the investigation reveals sufficient material, the proceedings should not be prematurely quashed based on allegations of mala fides, enmity, or the belief that the FIR is false, as these are matters to be examined during trial (!) (!) .

  8. The overall approach is to ensure that the proceedings are not quashed unless it is clear that no offence is disclosed on the face of the FIR or the material collected during investigation, and that continuing with the case would constitute an abuse of process or be unjustified (!) (!) .

  9. The court dismissed the petition for quashing, emphasizing that the trial court is the proper forum to examine the evidence and allegations in detail, and that the present proceedings are limited to assessing whether the FIR discloses a cognizable offence on its face (!) .

  10. The observations made are confined to the disposal of the petition and do not pre-judge the merits of the case itself (!) .

These points collectively reflect the legal principles governing the scope and limits of judicial review in FIR quashing petitions, highlighting the importance of not prejudging the case at the initial stage and respecting the trial process for a thorough examination of the evidence.


JUDGMENT :

(Rakesh Kainthla, J.)

The petitioners have filed the present petition for quashing of F.I.R. No. 233 of 2021 dated 15.07.2021, registered at Police Station Balh, District Mandi, and H.P. for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 447, 323, 504, and 506 read with Section 34 of IPC.

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present petition are that the informant made a complaint to the police that he and his daughter, Jonika, had gone to the backyard of their house on 06.07.2021 at about 9:30 p.m. to remove the wasp nest. Petitioner/accused Hem Raj came on the spot in a state of intoxication armed with a G.I. pipe. He hit Jonika. The informant asked the accused as to why he had beaten Jonika. The accused abused the informant. Vidya Devi, wife of accused Hem Raj, also reached the spot. She picked up a quarrel with the informant. The petitioner/accused, Kamal Kishore and Savitri Devi, came to the spot and pushed the informant. The petitioner/accused threatened to kill the informant. The matter was reported to the police, and an F.I.R. was registered in the Police Station. The police conducted the investigation.

3. Being aggrieved from the registration of the

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