DESH RAJ Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD . In this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short 'Cr.P.C.'), the petitioners who are related to each other as father and son, respectively, are seeking quashing of FIR No. 35 of 2014, dated 21.3.2014, Police Station Chowari, District Chamba, H.P. under Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC') registered at the behest of petitioner No. 1, Sh. Desh Raj (father) against petitioner No. 2, Sh. Manish Kumar (son) on the sole ground that it being a family dispute and the FIR having been lodged by the father against the son in the heat of passion and at the instigation of his other sons, no fruitful purpose would be served if the case is tried.

(2.) AFTER hearing the learned counsel for the petitioners, who has placed reliance upon the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Haryana and others Vs. Ch. Bhajan Lal and others, : AIR 1992 Supreme Court 604 (para 108) and by this Court in Vishal Nanda Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh and another,, 2014(1) Him. L.R. 380 and the learned Additional Advocate General, I am more than satisfied that the petitioners have not been able to make out any lawful cause or basis for quashing the FIR. The reasons to arise at this conclusion are that it is by now fairly settled that an FIR can be quashed only in case the allegations contained therein if taken on their face value do not constitute any offence, which is not the situation in this case. It is another matter that in a case under Section 498 IPC etc., a dictum of law has been laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and followed by this Court as well, that to encourage genuine settlement of matrimonial dispute, High Court in exercise of its inherent powers can quash criminal proceedings, FIR or complaint and such powers cannot be curtailed by the provisions of Section 320 Cr.P.C., which is also not the situation in this case.