Proceedings under Section 174A IPC are an abuse of process when the underlying complaint is withdrawn following a settlement.

JUDGMENT

Mr. Jasjit Singh Bedi, J. (Oral)

This is a petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIR No.0148 dated 05.06.2023 (Annexure P-4) registered under Section 174A of IPC, 1860 at Police Station City Rajpura, District Patiala which was registered consequent to the order dated 16.02.2019 (Annexure P-2) passed by the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Rajpura declaring the petitioner as a proclaimed offender in a complaint case under Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

2. The brief facts of the case are that in discharge of his legal liability, the petitioner/accused issued three cheques i.e. Cheque No.454150 dated 19.09.2017 for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/-, Cheque No.454151 for an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- and Cheque No.454152 dated 04.10.2017 for an amount of Rs.50,000/- in favour of the complainant. The said cheques came to be dishonoured. Pursuant thereto, as no payment was made in lieu of the dishonoured cheques, a complaint under section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act came to be instituted against the petitioner/accused and he was summoned to face trial. Subsequently, he was declared a proclaimed offender vide order dated 16.02.2019 (Annexure P-2). Pursuant to the said order, an FIR No.0148 dated 05.06.2023 (Annexure P-4) registered under Section 174A of IPC, 1860 at Police Station City Rajpura, District Patiala came to be registered against him.

3. Thereafter, a compromise was effected between the parties and the complaint was ordered to be dismissed as withdrawn in terms of the orders 28.08.2023 and 09.09.2023. The copy of the said orders are marked as A & B. 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 FIR No.0148 dated 05.06.2023 (Annexure P-4) under Section 174A of IPC, 1860 Police Station City Rajpura, District Patiala and consequential order has been filed.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner/accused submits that he had wrongly been declared a proclaimed offender and on learning about the same, the petitioner compromised the matter with the complainant. Thereafter, on 28.08.2023, the counsel for the complainant in the Trial Court got recorded his statement that as per his instructions, the complainant 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 28.08.2023.

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.

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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,