The High Court's inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC should be exercised sparingly to prevent abuse of process, and not to stifle legitimate prosecutions.

ORDER :

1. The petitioners herein have invoked the inherent power of this Court enshrined under Section 482 CrPC for quashment of FIR No. 60/2021 registerd with Police Station Devsar under Sections 341, 354 323 and506 IPC.

2. Facts giving rise to the filing of the instant petitions as stated in the petition are that the petitioner 1 is the owner in possession of land inherited from the ancestors along with part of land purchased in respect whereof a mutation stands attested on 30.09.1968 and that in presence of mother-in-law of the respondent 4 herein being step sister of the petitioner 1 herein who have had taken her share in the inherited property along with the petitioner 1 resulted into attestation of a demarcation mutation in this regard on 09.04.2003 and that greed prevailed upon the respondent 4 herein and started claiming a share in the property of the petitioner 1 and in the process started harassing the petitioner 1 and that though an amicable settlement was undertaken through the intervention of some respectable persons of the area, however, due to adamant approach of the respondent 4 herein the said settlement did not materialize whereafter private respondents challenged the aforesaid mutations before the Additional Deputy Commissioner Kulgam wherein an interim order of status-quo came to be passed against the petitioner 1 herein and that the petitioner herein filed response/objections to the said case filed by respondent 4 herein whereafter the said order of status-quo passed by the Additional District Commissioner, Kulgam came to be modified permitting the petitioners herein to raise construction thereon the land in question and that on 10.09.2021 the respondent 4 herein along with her husband and other relatives trespassed into the property of the petitioner 1 and started damaging the plinth raised by the petitioner 1 and in the process thrashed the petitioner 1 with iron rod whereafter the petitioner was moved to hospital for necessary treatment and thereafter the petitioner rushed to the Police Station for complaint however, surprisingly petitioner 1 was locked up there at the instance of the respondent 4 herein and that after persuasion an FIR came to be registered by the Police Station Devsar against respondent 4 and other accused persons and that respondent 4 herein being highly influential person used police administrations influence and put a false and fabricated story and got FIR No. 60/2021 registered with Police Station Devsar Kulgam against the petitioner under Sections 341, 354, 323 and 506 IPC in which the FIR petitioner 1 came to be granted bail by the Sessions Judge Kulgam on 14.09.2021.

3. The petitioners have challenged the FIR no. 60/2021 supra in the instant petition on multiple grounds urged in the petition.

4. Respondent 4 herein though has entered appearance in response to the notice issued in the instant petition, yet, has not filed any reply, however, the official respondents have filed response to the petition wherein it is being stated that an application came to be received from one Ruby Jan W/o Sabzar Ahmad Bhat R/o Sopar Tehsil Desar Kulgam on 12.09.2021 against the petitioners to the effect that the accused no. 1 petitioner 1 herein is the brother of her mother in law whose share in the property has not been given to her mother in law and on insistence of seeking a share in the property the accused persons forcibly entered into her residential house and thrashed her mother-in-law besides outraging her modesty whereupon FIR No. 60/2021 came to be registered and investigation set into motion and upon investigation it came to be established that the accused 1 and 2 petitioners 1 and 2 herein have committed the offences under Sections 341, 354, 323 and 506 IPC and accused petitioners 3 and 4 herein were found to have committed offences under Sections 341, 323 and506 IPC.

Heard counsel for the parties and perused the record.

5. Before proceeding to advert to the grounds urged by the petitioner