Nirmala Devi and others vs State of Punjab and others

Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia, J. (Oral)

Present petition has been filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking quashing of the FIR No. 13 dated 17.01.2007 registered at Police Station City, Malout under Sections 465, 467, 468, 120B IPC.

FIR has been annexed as Annexure P2. It has been stated in the FIR that Amar Nath had executed a Will on 4th April, 1994 in favour of petitioners No. 1 to 4. Complainants are grandchildren of Amar Nath. Satpal, father of the complainants, has been excluded by way of the Will from inheritance of Amar Nath.

Counsel for the petitioners has submitted that a civil suit was filed by Satpal, in which Will dated 4th April, 1994 was challenged. The Civil Court held the Will to be genuine and the plea of Satpal that the Will is forged and fabricated, was negated.

Aggrieved against the same, an appeal was filed by Satpal in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Muktsar. The appeal was also dismissed. Paras 24 to 27 of the appellate Court judgment have been reproduced in the present petition. Counsel has further relied upon order passed by this Court in Regular Second Appeal No. 3516 of 2004 decided on 21st October, 2007. It is stated that the complainants being legal representatives of Satpal had assailed the findings of two courts below in the Regular Second Appeal. The same was also dismissed by this Court and the finding that the Will is not surrounded by any suspicious circumstances, was upheld. Counsel has further relied upon Section 41 of Indian Evidence Act and has stated that in the matters of Will, findings of the Civil Court are a relevant consideration for the Criminal Court to quash the FIR.

Mr. Sandeep Wadhawan appearing for the complainant respondents has stated that since report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. (challan) has been filed, this Court should not exercise jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C.

This Court has always been hesitant to exercise jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIR. This Court had also held in number of judgments that the findings of the Civil Court are not binding upon the Criminal Court, except under Section 41 of the Indian Evidence Act.

The primary grievance of the complainants is that the Will executed by Amar Nath in favour of the accused was a forged and fabricated document. Once the Civil Court has held the Will to be genuine and this finding has also been upheld by the lower Appellate Court and by this Court in Regular Second Appeal, there is nothing, which can be urged to the contrary by the complainants to say that the Will was a forged and fabricated document.

Hence, present petition is accepted and the FIR No. 13 dated 17.01.2007 registered at Police Station City, Malout under Sections 465, 467, 468, 120B IPC, along with all subsequent proceedings, is quashed.