A petition for quashing criminal proceedings can be dismissed even if one accused has died, as long as there is no legal bar to continuing against the living accused and factual disputes should not be resolved at this stage.

1. Through the instant petition filed under S.561 - A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter for short, Cr.P.C.) petitioner seeks quashment of criminal proceedings titled State vs. M. S. Tariq and another, pending against the petitioner in the court of Railway Magistrate, Jammu.

2. The case of the petitioner is that on a written report of one Mohinder Singh a false case was registered in Police Station Bahu Fort, Jammu against the deceased father of the petitioner, namely, Mohd Sharief Tariq and the petitioner herein with the allegations that on 12th November, 2009 at about 10.35 AM, when said complainant Mohinder Singh came to attend his office as a Chairman of J&K Cooperative Bank at Sekhari Bhawan, Bahu Plaza, Railway Road, Jammu, he found a big crowd at the gate of the Bank and saw Mohd Sharief Tariq and the petitioner breaking open the lock of his office room with an Ari ( Blade) and when he objected to it, he was man handled by the said culprits and Mohd CRMC Sharief Tariq occupied his chair without any authority. The complainant requested SHO Police Station Trikuta Nagar / Bahu Fort to oust the said person from his room. On the said report, a case for commission of offences under S.451, S.323 RPC came to be registered in said Police Station. The police investigated the case and during theinvestigation besides taking other steps, the statements of the complainant Mohinder Singh, Barkat Ali, Peon in the said Bank, Parkash Sharma - Secretary to the Complainant and one Goutam Singh under S.161 - Cr.P.C came to be recorded and after completing the investigation charge sheet against the deceased father of the petitioner, namely. Mohd Sharie Tariq and the petitioner under S.451, S.323, S.201 RPC was filed in the court of law which is now pending disposal in the court of learned Railway Magistrate, Jammu. It is further stated that father of the petitioner, who expired long before the charge was submitted in the court of law, has been arrayed as main accused in the charge sheet.

3. The petitioner seeks quashment of the aforesaid proceedings, on the following grounds: -
a) That the father of the petitioner, namely, Mohd Sharief Tariq who expired long before the charge sheet was submitted in the court of law was arrayed as the main accused in the charge sheet. So to say the charge sheet besides against the petitioner by the State is also against dead person which is against all cannons of law and amounts to defamation.
b) That according to the prosecution case, the alleged occurrence took place at 10.35 AM and the office of the complainant was still under lock despite the fact that the peon of the bank was already present in the bank and the bank timing was 10.00 AM and the bank which is a busy place, cannot be believed to be closed even at 10.35 A.M. The story put forth by the prosecution that the office of the Chairman was broken open at 10.35 A.M. by the petitioner and his deceased father with an Ari (Blade) is not at all believable and is a bundle of lies.
c) The said prosecution story of breaking open the lock by the deceased father of the petitioner and the petitioner is a cock - bull story. Had there been any truth in the said allegation, it was not difficult for the investigating officer to recover the lock and blade. Offence under S.201 RPC has been added just to fill in the gap and to show that the occurrence had actually taken placed.
d) That the reality is that the deceased father of the petitioner had been elected as Chairman of J&K Cooperative Societies Bank by majority of Board of