TEK CHAND JAIN Vs. DELHI STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are promoters and builders and they are Directors, in several companies, namely, M/s Jaina Properties Pvt. Ltd, Jaina Properties and Finance Ltd, T.M. Apartments Pvt. Ltd and several other companies. It is stated that on the basis of the com-plaints made by various parties several FIRs were registered at various Police Stations in the years 1989 and 1990 under Sections 420, 406 and 120-B Indian Penal Code. The petitioners have filed petitions under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing the FIRs and quashing of the investigation.

(2.) Admittedly, the challan has not yet been filed before the concerned court and that no proceedings are pending before any court. The case is still at the investigation stage.

(3.) A preliminary objection was taken by the learned State counsel that when the petitioners filed the petition in the High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing the FIR and the investigation, there were no proceedings pending in any court at that time. Even today no proceedings are pending before any court. Oh account of the stay order granted by this Court the challan has not yet been filed, though the investigation has been completed in the matter and the challan is ripe to be filed in the court concerned. He put reliance upon a decision of the Supreme Court State of West Bengal vs. S.N. Basak {[1963] 2 S.C.R. 52 } and another decision of the Supreme Court in Jehan Singh vs. Delhi Administration {1974 S.C.C. [Cri] 558} in support of his contention that the petitions under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIRs are not competent. According to the learned State counsel, all these petitions filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIRs and the proceedings during the course of investigation are premature and should be dismissed. According to the learned State counsel, the powers of investigation into cognizable offences are contained in Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 154 which is in that chapter deals with information in cognizable offences and Section 156 with investigation into such offences and under these sections the police has the statutory right to investigate into the circumstances of any alleged cognizable offence without authority from a Magistrate and this statutory power of the police to investigate cannot be interfered with by the exercise of the inherent power of the Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. (old Section 561A of the Cr.P.C.). According to the learned counsel, the basic facts in this case are similar, to those in Jehan Singh's case [supra] and S.N. Basak's case [supra] where also no police challan or charge sheet against the accused had been laid in the Court when the petitions under Section 482 Cr.P.C. were filed. The impugned proceedings were those which were being conducted in the course of the police investigation.