The court can exercise its inherent power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to quash criminal proceedings based on a genuine and voluntary compromise between the parties, considering the nature of the offences, voluntary nature of the compromise, and the conduct of the accused persons.

JUDGMENT

Sanjay Vashisth , J. (Oral) - The present petition under Section 482, Cr.P.C., has been filed by the petitioners, for quashing of FIR No. 260, dated 31.08.2018 (Annexure P-1), for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 323, 341, 506 read with Section 149 of IPC, registered at Police Station Industrial Area, Chandigarh, and all the consequential proceedings arising therefrom, on the basis of compromise dated 14.12.2019 (Annexure P-2).

2. Vide order dated 05.03.2020, the affected parties were directed to appear before the learned trial Court/Illaqa Magistrate, for getting their respective statements recorded with regard to the compromise. The trial Court/Illaqa Magistrate was to submit a report in this regard giving certain details as enumerated in the said order.

3. Pursuant to the order dated 05.03.2020, passed by this Court, the parties have appeared before learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh, and as per report dated 15.04.2021, submitted to this Court, both the parties have got recorded their respective statements in Court. The operative part of the report received from learned Court below is as under:-

' In view of above statements, compromise as effected between the complainant and accused persons appears to be genuine and effected without any fear, pressure or undue influence. Challan in the present case has already been filed.

Perusal of challan shows that four persons namely Khush Nihal, Anti, Mani Mohan Singh and Arju Thapa nagar have been arrayed as accused in this case. One more person namely Vaibhav was also implicated in the present case as accused, however, he being juvenile, separate challan against him was filed before the Juvenile Justice Board, Chandigarh. All the four accused are on bail in this case and none of them has been declared proclaimed offender. As per statement of accused persons, except the present case, they are not involved in any other case. As per statement of IO, except the complainant Dheeraj there is no other victim/complainant in the present case. Case is at the stage of arguments on charge.'

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners urged that due to intervention of the respectable and elderly people of the society, the matter has been resolved and private parties have effected a compromise dated 14.12.2019 (Annexure P-2). At present, there remains no dispute amongst the private parties. He further submits that in view of the compromise so effected between the private parties, pendency of the impugned FIR and consequential proceedings emanating therefrom would be sheer abuse of the process of law.

5. Ld. APP, UT Chandigarh as also learned counsel for respondent No. 2, after going through the statements and the report received from learned Court below, very fairly admit that the private parties have resolved their dispute and effected a compromise and that they have no objection if the impugned FIR and all the consequential proceedings are quashed on the basis of the compromise.

6. The Full Bench of this Court in the matter of Kulwinder Singh and others v. State of Punjab and another, 2007 (3) RCR (Criminal) 1052, has observed as under:

'(28) To conclude, it can safely be said that there can never be any hard and fast category which can be prescribed to enable the Court to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. The only principle that can be laid down is the one which has been incorporated in the Section itself, i.e., "to prevent abuse of the process of any Court" or "to secure the ends of justice'.

(29) In Mrs. Shakuntala Sawhney v. Mrs. Kaushalya Sawhney and others, Hon'ble Krishna Iyer, J. aptly summoned up the essence of compromise in the following words:

'The finest hour of justice arrives propitiously when parties, despite falling apart, bury the hatchet and weave a sense of fellowship of reunion.'

(30) The power to do complete justice is the very essence of every judicial justice dispensation system. It cannot be diluted by distorted perceptions and is not a sl