Criminal proceedings initiated after inordinate delay to resolve a purely civil dispute over property possession constitute an abuse of the process of law and are liable to be quashed under inherent powers.

Order

1. By way of filing the instant misc. petition, a prayer has been made to quash the impugned FIR No. 486/2012, registered with the Police Station Shipra Path, District Jaipur City (East) for the offences punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 448 and 120B IPC and Section 3(5) of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities), Act 1989.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the complainant-respondent No.5 submitted an application, on behalf of the petitioner, seeking allotment of a house under the MLA/Ex MLA Special Registration Scheme, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as, “the Scheme of 1986”) of the Rajasthan Housing Board (for short, "the RHB"). The requisite amount along with the aforesaid application was submitted in the office of RHB on 29.09.1986. Thereafter, allotment was made by the RHB in the name of the complainant-respondent No.5 on 02.01.1992 and House No. 4/173, SFS, Mansarovar, Jaipur (hereinafter, “subject house”) was allotted in his name on "HIRE PURCHASE" basis. Counsel further submits that an agreement was executed between the complainant-respondent No.5 and the petitioner on 30.09.1986 by which the petitioner was given Special Power of Attorney for depositing the requisite amount with the RHB and getting possession of the subject house, allotted by the RHB under the Scheme of 1986. Counsel submits that on 01.08.1994, an agreement was executed by the complainant-respondent No.5 in favour of the petitioner by which the complainant-respondent No.5 agreed for cancellation of allotment of the subject house in his name and also accepted that he would have no objection, in case the subject house is allotted in the name of the petitioner. Counsel submits that on the basis of the aforesaid documents, the petitioner submitted an application before the RHB for making allotment of the subject house in his name and thereafter, the RHB published a notice in the daily newspaper Rajasthan Patrika on 27.09.1994, inviting objections against cancellation of certain allotments made by the RHB. This notice included the name of the complainant-respondent No.5 against the subject house. Counsel further submits that when no objections were received by the RHB, against cancellation of the complainant-respondent No.5’s allotment, the same was carried out by the RHB vide Office Order dated 19.12.1994 and subsequently, regularized/re-allotted the subject house in favour of the petitioner vide letter dated 30.12.1994. Since then, the petitioner is in possession of the subject house. Counsel submits that thereafter, in the year 2006, the complainant-respondent No.5 submitted another application in the office of the RHB for getting allotment of a house under the RHB’s Special Registration Scheme-2006 (hereinafter, “Scheme of 2006”) which is floated for allotment of a house to MLAs and Ex MLAS. The aforesaid application submitted by the complainant respondent No.5 was rejected by the RHB on 19.10.2012 on the ground that allotment of a house was already made in his favour by the RHB under the Scheme of 1986 and the complainant respondent No.5 has suppressed this information, while applying for allotment of house under the Scheme of 2006. Counsel submits that now, after a lapse of almost 18 years from the date of regularization of the subject house in the name of the petitioner, the complainant-respondent No.5 woke up and lodged the impugned FIR wherein a prayer has