The court emphasized that the power to quash a criminal proceeding should be exercised sparingly and with circumspection, and only in the rarest of rare cases, and that the court will not be justified in embarking upon an inquiry as to the reliability or genuineness of the allegations made in the FIR or the complaint.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to call for the records and quash the proceedings in Spl.C.No.13 of 2022 on the file of the Special Court for Prevention of Corruption Act Cases, Villupuram.)

1. The present petition has been filed seeking to call for the records and quash the proceedings in Spl.C.No.13 of 2022 on the file of the Special Court for Prevention of Corruption Act Cases, Villupuram.

2. Facts, in brief, behind the filing of the present petition are as under:-

i) The petitioner, who is arrayed as A1, had joined as Headmistress cum Hostel Warden in Government Tribal Residential Middle School (GTR Middle School), Paranginatham, Chinnasalem Taluk, Villupuram District, a School for denotified community and was serving so during the check period from 1.8.2011 to 10.9.2014 and subsequently, she was transferred to ADW Middle School, Namachivayapuram and has been continuing there.

ii) During the said check period, A2 to A11 in the present criminal proceedings were serving as Teachers in the same school.

iii) During the check period, a Preliminary Enquiry in No.123/2014/EDN/VPM was conducted as per the direction of the Directorate of Vigilance, Anti-Corruption, Chennai.

iv) The enquiry revealed that the petitioner, who was in charge of organizing food for the hostel students and claim the amount spent by way of reimbursement, had defrauded the Government by falsifying the accounts and records to show that 300 students were regularly staying in Hostel whereas only 200 to 220 students had stayed and they alone had been fed in the hostel and thereby induced the Government to make excess payment by way of reimbursement.

v) Upon such revelation, a complaint in Crime No.01/2015 came to be filed against the petitioner on the file of the second respondent for the offences punishable under Sections 167, 477-A, 420, 409 IPC and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

vi) On completion of the investigation, charge sheet was filed against the petitioner and 10 others before the Special Court for Prevention of Corruption Act Cases, Villupuram District. Seeking to quash the same, the present petition has been filed by the petitioner/A1.

3. The core submission of Mr.G.Rajagopalan, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner is as under:-

i) The duty of the petitioner is to take care the inmates of the hostel as warden and to provide food to them and in that process, the petitioner was to pay for the provisions, vegetables and other requirements, which will be reimbursed to her after a period of four months.

ii) The quantity of food handled is used to be entered in Form No.8 while the attendance of students is used to be entered in Form No.7 and both the stock registers are subjected to periodical inspection by the Tahsildar, A.D. Welfare. Accordingly, it was done on various dates during the check period and on 4.1.2013, the inspection was done by the Revenue Divisional Officer, however, no adverse remarks have been found against the petitioner.

iii) The petitioner received reimbursement in respect of the amount spent by her for purchasing firewood and she had refused to part with some amount as claimed by some teachers, who were working with the petitioner from the said reimbursement, as she alone had spent for the same, they developed some grudges against her and lodged a false complaint her, which ended in final report against her and 10 others.

iv) No proper investigation has been done by the respondent police. The stock register, attendance registers and other relevant records have not at all been verified by the respondent. All the transactions are borne by records and subjected to periodical inspection by the authorities, without there being any adverse remarks against the petitioner.

v) The petit