The power to quash a criminal proceeding should be exercised sparingly and with caution, especially at the stage of investigation.

JUDGMENT :

Vishal Mishra, J.

With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the matter is finally heard.

1. The present petition has been filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashment of First Information Report registered in respect of Crime No. 88/2021 at Police Station Maharajpura, District Gwalior for the offences under section 420 of the IPC and all other consequential proceedings consequent thereto.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent no. 2 has lodged the FIR against the petitioner alleging therein that the petitioner and her husband has taken Rs. 20 Lakhs from the petitioner by playing fraud with him for performing some religious ceremony (Pooja Path). Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has not involved in the alleged crime and the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case and she has not committed any offence in any manner. It is further submitted that the aforesaid case has been registered against the petitioner only for the purpose of harassment. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that there are friendly terms of the petitioner with the respondent no. 2 and the respondent no. 2 was working as a colleague with the husband of the petitioner in the Pollution Control Board. The husband of the petitioner died on 23.6.2020 due to ill health. After death of the petitioner's husband the respondent no. 2 pressurize the present petitioner to marry him and when petitioner denied, then he started harassing the petitioner in every possible manner. The present FIR was lodged by the respondent no. 2 just to counterblast the FIR lodged against him at Crime No. 95/2021 dated 22.2.2021 at Police Station Maharajpura, District Gwalior under section 354, 294, 506 of IPC. Learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgment passed in the case of State of Haryana and others Vs. Bhajanlal and others, (1992 Suppl. (1) SCC 335) and Vineet Kumar and others Vs. State of U.P. and another, (Criminal Appeal No. 577 of 2017 (arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 287 of 2017) and prayed for quashing the entire consequential proceedings arising out of the FIR registered at Crime No. 88/2021 at Police Station Maharajpura, District Gwalior.

3. Per Contra counsel for the State has opposed the petition and has argued that investigation is pending in the case and as per the settled legal preposition pending investigation FIR should not be quashed and he has prayed for dismissal of the petition.

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

5. In the present case, First Information Report has been registered and the matter has to be investigated by the police authority and at this stage from bare perusal of the F.I.R., it can never be said that no case is made out against the present applicant.

6. 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