The High Court has the power to quash an FIR and police investigation under Section 482 of the CrPC in exceptional circumstances, such as when the FIR does not disclose a cognizable offense or when the investigation is mala fide.

This is an application under Section 482, Cr. P. C. praying for quashing of the first information report dated 23-3-1994 under Section 143, 504 and 506, I. P. C. in case crime No. 142-A of 1994 of P. S. Kotwali, district Ghazipur. It has also been prayed that the arrest of the applicants be stayed in the said case.

2. I have heard Shri M. L. Rai, learned counsel for the applicants and the learned Government counsel and I am disposing of this case finally.

3. Applicant No. 1 Shri Rama Shanker Pandey is the Principal in Government City Inter College, Ghazipur and is a Class II officer of the U. P. Government. The other applicants are teachers and clerk in the same college. The aforesaid first information report dated 23-3-1994 was lodged against the applicants by another teacher of the same college Shri Bal Mukund Maurya at 5. 10p. m. A true copy of the said first information report is Annexure-1 to the affidavit filed in support of this application. An earlier first information report was lodged by Shri Rama Shanker Pandey, the Principal of the college (applicant No. 1 in this petition) at 1. 15 p. m. the same day under Sections 186/ 504/506, I. P. C. true copy of which is Annexure-2 to the affidavit filed in support ot this application. In this first information report lodged by Rama Shanker Pandey it is alleged that on 23-3-1994 when the annual home examina tion was going on Bal Mukund Maurya caught the hand of the Principal and told him that today he will not be able to leave the room and he will say why he has fixed the duty of Bal Mukund Maurya there. By chance the members of the flying squad reached the spot and hence nothing untoward happened. It is also alleged in the said FIR that Bal Mukund Maurya abused the applicant No. 1 and threatenend to kill him and interferred with his official duties.

4. The first information report lodged by Bal Mukund Maurya on 23-3-1994 against the applicants is reproduced below:

5. It is alleged in paragraph 3 of the affidavit in support of this applica tion that the first information lodged by Bal Mukund Maurya is false with mala fide intention filed after the first information report of the Principal Rama Shanker Pandeyand it is malicious. It is alleged that the withesses mentioned in the first information report of Bal Mukund Maurya have denied the incident and they informed the police accordingly. It is further alleged para 5 of the affidavit that Bal Mukund Maurya became angry with the applicant No. 1 as he (the applicant No. 1) had sent a D. O. letter against Bal Mukund Maurya to the Additional Director of Education vide letter dated 21/23-3-1994. A true copy of the said letter is Annexure 5. In paragraph 6 it also alleged that Bal Mukund Maurya was doing the duty of invigilation in the examination of correspondence students since several years.

6. Learned counsel for the applicants states that a perusal of the first information report show that no offence is made out against the applicants and hence it deserves to be quashed. A perusal of the first information report filed by Bal Mukund Maurya shows that the only allegation therein is that the applicants abuse Bal Mukund Maurya and said that they will see him outside. In my opinion, even if the allegation in the first informa tion report is assumed to be correct, no criminal offence is made out

against the applicant. A mere abuse by itself is not a criminal offence though it may be an improper act. In this case the allegation is vagueand even the exact abuse is not mentioned. Moreover, Section 95 of the Indian Penal Code states "nothing is an offence by reason that it causes, or that it is intended to cause, or that it is known to be likely to cause, any harm, if that harm is so slight that no person of ordinary sense and temper would complain of such harm. " The allegations in the first information report in my opinion caused only slight harm to Bal Mukund Maurya even if they are assumed to be correctand hence in view o