Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: February 11, 2022 at 14:35 IST
On 10th February, the Supreme Court stated that the power of Quashing Criminal Proceedings shall be exercised very sparingly and that too in the rarest of rare Cases.
The Bench comprised of Justices Abhay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka. It stated that the inherent powers of the Court did not confer any Arbitrary Jurisdiction to act as per its whims and fancies.
The Supreme Court was hearing an Appeal filed against an Allahabad High Court Order declining interference in the Criminal Proceedings initiated against a woman at the instance of her brother-in-law.
The Counsel for the Appellant stated that after the sad demise of the woman’s husband, her brother-in-law pressurized her for handing over all the benefits that she received as a result of her husband’s death.
After observing the facts of the Case, the Supreme Court stated that the Complainant (brother-in-law) did not place any material on record to justify the Allegations made in the Complaint based on which an FIR (First Information Report) was registered.
The Bench stated
Although it is true that it was not open for the Court to embark upon any enquiry as to the reliability or genuineness of the Allegations made in the FIR, but at least there has to be some factual supporting material for what has been Alleged in the FIR which is completely missing in the present Case.
The Court went through the Complaint and concluded that no Offence as Alleged in the FIR was made out against the Appellant.
The Bench further stated that allowing the Criminal Proceedings to continue would lead to abuse of the process of Law and would cause mental trauma to the Appellant, which was overlooked by the High Court.
Thus, the Supreme Court Quashed the FIR registered against the Appellant.