The court can exercise its power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash criminal proceedings only in exceptional cases where the material produced by the accused rules out the charges and the trial would result in abuse of process of court. The power should be exercised to prevent abuse of the process of any court and to secure the ends of justice.

JUDGMENT :

ARUN KUMAR SINGH DESHWAL, J.

1. Heard learned counsel for the applicants and Sri Arvind Kumar Tripathi, learned AGA for the State and perused the record.

2. Present application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed with the following prayer:

“To allow this petition by setting aside the cognizance order dated 06/09/2014, the charge-sheet dated 25/05/2014 and order dated 23/06/2018 whereby Charges have been framed by Special A.C.J.M. Custom Lko, arising out of Case Crime No. 13/2014 under section 498-A, 323, 504, 506 I.P.C. & 3/4 D.P. Act P.S. Banthra District Lucknow pending now before Special Chief Judicial Magistrate Custom Lucknow namely Case No. 523 of 2014, State vs. Shailendra Singh and in the interest of Justice.”

3. The contention of the learned counsel for the applicants is that from the material collected during investigation no case is made out against the applicants as the allegations made are absolutely vague. He further submitted that though the charges have been framed on 23.06.2018, the applicants are also released on bail in the impugned proceedings. In support of his case, for delayed filing of the present application after almost about more than nine year, he has relied upon judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Rajiv Thapar and Others vs. Madan Lal Kapoor, 2013 AIR SCW 784 and has relied upon paragraph 22 and 23 of the judgment in which Hon'ble Apex Court observed that Jurisdiction of High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. can be exercised to quash the proceeding even at the stage of issuance process or at the stage of committal or even at the stage of framing of charges, therefore merely filing an application after the delay of more than nine years will not prevent the Court from exercising its power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. Paragraph 22 and 23 of the judgment are quoted hereunder:

“22. The issue being examined in the instant case is the jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. if it chooses to quash the initiation of the prosecution against an accused, at the stage of issuing process, or at the stage of committal, or even at the stage of framing of charges. These are all stages before the commencement of the actual trial. The same parameters would naturally be available for later stages as well. The power vested in the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. at the stages referred to hereinabove, would have far reaching consequences, inasmuch as, it would negate the prosecution's/complainant's case without allowing the prosecution/complainant to lead evidence. Such a determination must always be rendered with caution, care and circumspection. To invoke its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. the High Court has to be fully satisfied, that the material produced by the accused is such, that would lead to the conclusion, that his/their defence is based on sound, reasonable, and indubitable facts; the material produced is such, as would rule out and displace the assertions contained in the charges leveled against the accused; and the material produced is such, as would clearly reject and overrule the veracity of the allegations contained in the accusations leveled by the prosecution/complainant. It should be sufficient to rule out, reject and discard the accusations leveled by the prosecution/complainant, without the necessity of recording any evidence. For this the material relied upon by the defence should not have been refuted, or alternatively, cannot be justifiably refuted, being material of sterling and impeccable quality. The material relied upon by the accused should be such, as would persuade a reasonable person to dismiss and condemn the actual basis of the accusations as false. In such a situation, the judicial conscience of the High Court would persuade it to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to quash such criminal proceedings, for that would prevent abuse of process of the court, and secure the ends of justice.

23. Based