JUDGMENT

Jasjit Singh Bedi, J. (Oral)

This is a petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashing of the order dated 17.01.2015 (Annexure P-1) passed by the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Hoshiarpur, whereby the petitioner has been declared a proclaimed person in complaint case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments, 1881 and the consequential FIR No.197, dated 06.10.2021 (Annexure P-2) registered under Section 174A of IPC at Police Station City Hoshiarpur, District Hoshiarpur.

2. The brief facts of the case are that a complaint under section 138 of the NI Act was filed against the petitioner/accused before the Court of Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Hoshiarpur by the complainant. The petitioner/accused had no knowledge about the said complaint and summoning order. However, vide order dated 17.01.2015 (Annexure P-1), the petitioner/accused was declared a proclaimed person. Pursuant to the said order, an FIR No.197 dated 06.10.2021 (Annexure P-2) under Section 174A IPC Police Station City Hoshiarpur, District Hoshiarpur came to be registered against the petitioner/accused.

3. Thereafter, a compromise was effected between the parties and the complaint was ordered to be dismissed as withdrawn in terms of the order dated 17.08.2022 (Annexures P-6 & P-7). In view of the dismissal of the complaint under section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act on the basis of the compromise, the present petition for quashing of the aforesaid order dated 17.01.2015 (Annexure P-1) passed by the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Hoshiarpur and the consequential FIR (Annexure P-2) has been filed.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner/accused submits that he had wrongly been declared a proclaimed person and on learning about the same, the petitioner compromised the matter with the complainant. Thereafter, on 17.08.2022, the complainant got recorded her statement that she did not want to proceed further with the present complaint and wanted to withdraw the same. Based on the said statement, the complaint was ordered to be dismissed as withdrawn on 17.08.2022 (P-7).

5. The learned State counsel has opposed the present petition and has submitted that the FIR has been correctly registered.

6. This Court has heard the learned counsel for the parties and has perused the paper-book.

7. From the above-said facts and circumstances, it is apparent that the present FIR was registered in view of the fact that the petitioner was declared as a proclaimed person in the proceeding under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The impugned complaint itself has been withdrawn.

8. A co-ordinate Bench of this Court in CRM-M-43813-2018 titled as "Baldev Chand Bansal v. State of Haryana and another", decided on 29.01.2019 has held as under:-

"Prayer in this petition is for quashing of FIR No.64 dated 15.02.2017 filed under Section 174A of the Indian Penal Code registered at Police Station Sector-5, Panchkula and all other subsequent proceedings arising thereof as well as order dated 24.10.2016 passed by the trial Court vide which a direction was issued to register the aforesaid FIR.

xxx xxx xxx

Learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the decisions rendered by this Court in " Vikas Sharma v. Gurpreet Singh Kohli and another (supra), 2017, (3) L.A.R.584, Microqual Techno Limited and others v. State of Haryana and another, 2015 (32) RCR (Criminal) 790 and "Rajneesh Khanna v. State of Haryana and another" 2017(3) L.A.R. 555 wherein in an identical circumstance, this Court has held that since the main petition filed under Section 138 of the Act stands withdrawn in view of an amicable settlement between the parties, therefore, c