Power Of Quashing Criminal Proceedings Should Be Exercised Very Sparingly: Supreme Court

The top court was hearing an appeal against an order of the Allahabad High Court declining to interfere in the criminal proceedings initiated against a woman at the instance of her brother-in-law.

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New Delhi: The power of quashing criminal proceedings should be exercised very sparingly and that too in rarest of the rare cases, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.

A bench of justices Abhay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka said that the inherent powers do not confer any arbitrary jurisdiction on the court to act according to its whims and fancies.

"It is no doubt true that the power of quashing of criminal proceedings should be exercised very sparingly and with circumspection and that too in rarest of the rare cases and it was not justified for the court in embarking upon an enquiry as to the reliability or genuineness or otherwise of the allegations made in the FIR or the complaint and that the inherent powers do not confer any arbitrary jurisdiction on the court to act according to its whims and fancies," the bench said.

The top court was hearing an appeal against an order of the Allahabad High Court declining to interfere in the criminal proceedings initiated against a woman at the instance of her brother-in-law.

The counsel for the appellant submitted that everything was running smoothly in her life, but because of the untimely sad demise of her husband her brother-in law left no stone unturned to pressurise her for handing over all the terminal benefits which she received on account of death of her late husband and was interested to seek compassionate appointment in her place.

Adverting to the facts of the instant case, the apex court said there was no material placed on record by the complainant (brother in law) to justify the allegations which were made in the complaint on the basis of which an FIR was registered.

"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 bench said while quashing the FIR against the woman.

The apex court said that after going through the complaint on the basis of which FIR was registered and other material placed on record, it was of the considered view that no offence of any kind as has been alleged in the FIR, has been made out against the appellant.

"If we allow the criminal proceedings to continue, it will be nothing but a clear abuse of the process of law and will be a mental trauma to the appellant which has been completely overlooked by the high court while dismissing the petition filed at her instance under Section 482 CrPC," the bench said.