The power to quash a criminal proceeding should be exercised sparingly and only in rare cases, and the duty of police authorities to complete investigations within a time-bound frame.

JUDGMENT :

Vishal Mishra, J.

1. With the consent of parties, the matter is finally heard.

2. The present petition has been filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashing the FIR registered under Sections 420 and 467 of IPC registered at Crime No. 153 of 2019 at PS Sirol district Gwalior.

3. It is submitted that the petitioner has already entered into compromise with the respondent no.2 and respondent no. 2 has filed an affidavit to the aforesaid effect which is filed along with application for compromise being I.A. No. 5586 of 2021. He submits that as the matter has already been compromised and complainant is not ready to proceed with the FIR/complaint therefore, he prays that the matter be sent for verification of compromise and the FIR be quashed.

4. Counsel appearing for the respondent/State submits that the investigation is pending in the matter. There are allegations against the present petitioner for selling government land to the respondent no.2. The allegations are serious in nature and require to be investigated completely. It is argued that as per settled legal proposition, pending investigation, normally FIR cannot be quashed. The case does not fall within any parameters/guidelines which have been issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana and others vs. Bhajan Lal and others, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335. In such circumstances, there are no merits in the petition. Therefore, it deserves to be dismissed.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

6. From perusal of record, it is seen that a complaint was filed by respondent no. 2 with respect to selling of a piece of land situated in Ward No. 60 Alphanagr, Hurawali district Gwalior for consideration of Rs. 5,01,840/- and thereafter when the authorities of the municipal corporation has initiated the demolition drive over the encroachment and the boundary wall of the petitioner was demolished, she came to know that the fraud has been committed with her by the petitioner. In such circumstances, she has filed a complaint to the police authorities on 7.9.2019 on the basis of which, FIR was got registered at Crime No. 153 of 2019 for offence punishable under Section 420 and 467 of IPC. Investigation is pending in the matter, therefore, compromise will not suffice to absolve the petitioner from his conduct of selling government land to the respondent no. 2 by manipulating the documents. Aforesaid are the serious allegations against the petitioner which require investigation.

7. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of State of Haryana Vs. Bhajanlal (1992) Supp (1) SCC 335 in paragraph 102 and 103 has held as under:-

"102. In the backdrop of the interpretation of the various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which we have extracted and reproduced above, we give the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and sufficient channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list of myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised.

(1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirely do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.

(2) Where the allegations in the first information report and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155 of the Code.

(3) Where the u