The court emphasized that the registration of FIR should not result in harassment or persecution and that the FIR should clearly disclose the commission of a cognizable offence. It highlighted the power of the High Court to quash a proceeding under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

JUDGMENT :

THROUGH VIRTUAL MODE

1. Through the medium of the instant Petition, the Petitioner is seeking quashing of FIR bearing No. 58/2017, registered in Police Station, Maisuma, Srinagar, under Sections 420 and 467 of the erstwhile Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), inter alia, on the grounds detailed out herein-below:

"I. That the petitioner during the preliminary inquest proceedings, informed the department that there is no such dispute existing at all between him and the Bank and even if there was any, having regard to the fact that the Bank has accepted one time payment of loan liquidation towards car loan and has issued the NOC, as such, the petitioner was reinstated into service and is presently working in Railway Police. The FIR registered against the petitioner now after his retirement and liquidation of loan is liable to be quashed;

II. That the petitioner has not committed any offence and the allegation of production of fake/fictitious NOC gets absolved once the Bank has issued the NOC. There is no dispute now on account of obtaining loan from the Bank concerned and liquidating the loan advance. The Crime Branch has also clarified that since the petitioner has liquidated the loan in full and NOC has been issued in his favour by the Bank concerned and accordingly he is required to be exonerated. Since the matter is now settled, there is no reason for re-investigating the case by the local police i.e. Police Station, Maisuma, Srinagar. The police has unnecessarily registered the case to harass the petitioner. It is submitted that the Police Station, Maisuma has without conducting preliminary enquiry registered the said FIR and without getting any information from the Bank concerned and also without going through the main case. As a matter of fact, there is no compliant from the Bank surviving, it is only on false and frivolous grounds that the said FIR has been registered against the petitioner, that too, without conducting an enquiry into the offence for registration of FIR u/s 154 Cr.P.C. being the procedure established by law in this behalf. The communication referred to in the FIR, on the basis of which Police Maisuma claims to have registered the FIR does not disclose cognizable offence, as such, there was no need to register instant FIR against the petitioner. As submitted above, there is no such dispute between the principal party i.e. Canara Bank and the petitioner, as the petitioner has liquidated the car loan advance in full and the Bank having accepted same has as such issued NOC. It is assumed for the sake of argument without admitting, that there is any such kind of dispute and/or the department is of the view that the petitioner has committed a misconduct, for the same the petitioner is being proceeded against departmentally and the Police has no jurisdiction to step into it in any manner whatsoever. As such on this ground alone, the FIR is liable to be quashed;

III. That the petitioner respectfully submits here that the object behind investigation by police is not only to collect evidence, not possible for complainant or aggrieved party to lay hand upon, but also to weed out matters at the very outset and send for trial only such cases where there is prima facie, sufficient material to connect accused with alleged occurrence/offence. In the instant case, there is no material or trustworthy evidence collected in support of the claim by the police, as such there was no question of registering the case against the petitioner. On this ground also, the FIR warrants to be quashed;

IV. That the complaint against petitioner admittedly was of civil nature, the concerned party i.e. the Bank has deliberately not chosen to avail civil remedy, if any, available to it as in that eventuality, the party had to pay a huge sum towards court fee to be affixed along with the suit. In any case, the FIR registered against petitioner and proceedings initiated in it are liable to be quashed;

V. That it is settled that whether the information