LILLY GOYAL Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant is the sister of the deceased husband of the second respondent. The second respondent's marriage was plagued with marital discord. When the husband was alive, the appellant and the second respondent and their families were going hammer and tongs at each other due to the marital discord. Criminal proceedings were also initiated against each other. Later, all of these came to be settled on 20/6/2024 by Annexure P4, settlement deed, after the husband of the second respondent died. There was a compromise entered into between the second respondent and the family of the appellant as is seen from Annexure P4. However, what remained was a solitary complaint under Sec. 182 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) registered as Police Kalendra No.4 of 2021, pending before the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class (JMFC), Nahan, District Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh.

(3.) The appellant by the application under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C) sought for quashing the complaint. The High Court referred to a number of decisions and found that the offence under Sec. 182 of the IPC read with the provisions of Sec. 195 of the Cr.P.C is a matter between the 'public servant and the 'offender'. The settlement between the appellant and the second respondent does not put an end to that, since the offence is against the public servant. The High Court dismissed the application.