S.482 CrPC Empowers High Court To Entertain Applications Not Contemplated In CrPC If Required To Meet Ends Of Justice: Punjab & Haryana HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently observed that Section 482 of CrPC confers extraordinary powers on High Court and empowers it to entertain applications not contemplated in the Code of Criminal Procedure, in case the ends of justice require."This section gives the power to this Court to entertain applications which are not contemplated in the Code of Criminal Procedure, in the event, it is felt that the ends of justice will require that the Court can invoke the extraordinary powers which are to be exercised with restraint and not lightly.The bench comprising Justice Vivek Puri further held that when the Court is satisfied that its interference under inherent powers is required to meet the ends of justice, it ought to exercise such powers. The Court further added that inherent power vested under Section 482 should not be invoked as a matter of routine and it should only be invoked to prevent the abuse of the process of the Court and to secure the ends of justice.The remarks were made while dealing with a petition filed under Section 482 CrPC, invoking the High Court's inherent jurisdiction for quashing of a FIR lodged under Sections 354-A (Sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and Section 8 (Sexual assault) of the POCSO Act, Considering the facts of the instant case where the victim-respondent no.2 who was aged about 17 years and 10 months at the time of occurrence and is now married to the petitioner after attaining the age of majority and the couple is stated to be residing happily with each other, the court opined that continuing criminal proceedings will cause injustice. In such circumstances, the possibility of conviction also become remote and bleak and continuation of criminal case will cause injustice not only to the petitioner but also to respondent No.2, who is now legally wedded wife of the petitioner. Therefore, the court concluded that it is a fit case for exercising the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Code, so as to secure the ends of justice in the light of an amicable settlement having been effected between the parties and continuation of the prosecution would result in sheer abuse of process of law. In the light of the observations made above and considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the court ordered the FIR and all the consequential proceedings arising therefrom to be quashed. Case Title: Amit v. State of Haryana and OthersCitation: 2022 LiveLaw (PH) 116 Click Here To Read/Download Order

S.482 CrPC Empowers High Court To Entertain Applications Not Contemplated In CrPC If Required To Meet Ends Of Justice: Punjab & Haryana HC

Drishti Yadav

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