The main legal point established in the judgment is that the High Court has the inherent power to quash criminal proceedings when the parties have settled their disputes, provided that the possibility of conviction is remote and continuation of the case would cause oppression and prejudice to the accused.

JUDGMENT :

1. By invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred as to the 'Code'), petitioner by the instant petition seeks quashment of the Charge-sheet No. 33/2021 titled UT of J&K vs. Ajay Kumar @ Pankaj pending before the Court of learned Special Judge POCSO cases Jammu, arising out of FIR No. 0068/2021, dated 03.04.2021 registered against him in Police Station Bishnah District Jammu for the commission of offences punishable under sections 7 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (for short 'the POCSO Act').

2. It is averred, that petitioner is serving in Indian Army and is known in the Army for his good character/good human being, there has not been a single complaint of any sort or nature against him from any person till date, petitioner has friendly relation with respondent No. 2 as he is also living in the same vicinity where the family of the petitioner is living, that respondent No. 2 by projecting certain urgent and emergent domestic exigency arising due to frequent lockdowns due to COVID-19 pandemic borrowed money amounting to Rs. 1.25 lacs from the petitioner with the condition that the same shall be returned by respondent No. 2 in the beginning of January 2021, that the petitioner right since January 2021 time and again reminded respondent No. 2 for return of the money but he on one pretext or the other remained dilly delaying the return of the money back to the petitioner and on 23.03.2021, the petitioner came to his home after obtaining leave, requested respondent No. 2 to return the amount borrowed by him, but he adopted same dilly delaying tactics. It is averred, that on 03.04.2021 respondent No. 2 invited the petitioner at his residence around 7.30 pm to the collect the money which he has borrowed from the petitioner, petitioner in good faith visited his residence and on reaching there, the respondent No. 2 was not present whereas his wife, his daughter and his son were present there, petitioner was attended properly by the wife of respondent No. 2 and after waiting for about an hour when respondent No. 2 did not return back, the petitioner left the house respondent No. 2, that respondent No. 2 and his wife in order to get rid of the petitioner and his efforts to retrieve back the money advanced to the complainant, hatched a criminal conspiracy and in this behalf by inducting his minor daughter as alleged victim, got the petitioner involved in a criminal case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offices Act, 2012 and on 03.04.2021, respondent No. 2 lodged a highly false, baseless and vexatious complaint with Police Station Bishnah alleging therein that the petitioner had visited his residence in his absence and allegedly forcibly grabbed his minor daughter and pressed her breast, the minor daughter narrated the incident to her mother i.e wife of respondent No. 2, with these allegations, the complaint was filed and the police of Police Station Bishnah without undertaking any preliminary enquiry and believing the allegations as contained in the complaint as gospel truth, straightway registered the impugned FIR containing same set of allegations as were indicated in the complaint filed by respondent No. 2. It is moreso averred, that immediately with the registration of FIR, the petitioner was arrested, the petitioner filed bail application before the Court of learned Special Judge POCSO Cases Jammu which was rejected vide order dated 29.04.2021, that during the period the petitioner was facing incarceration in jail, respondent No.2 has sworn an affidavit on 28.06.2021 duly attested before Special Excise Mobile Magistrate Jammu in which he has admitted that due to misinformation, miscommunication and in a complete haste without proper understanding, he approached the police station with a complaint against the petitioner, in the said affidavit, respondent No.2 has admitted that he is swearing the said aff