KULDEEP SINGH Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present petition has been preferred under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing of FIR No. 24 of 2018 dated 27.2.2018, registered at P.S. Kala Amb, District Sirmaur(H.P.) under Section 420 IPC lodged by respondent No.4 and consequential proceedings if initiated in pursuance thereto against the petitioner. Present petition has been filed on the basis of compromise arrived at between the parties.

(2.) On 18.5.2018, petitioner/accused and respondent No.4/complainant, were present in the Court. On that day, statement of complainant/respondent No.4 was recorded on oath, wherein he has stated that he did not remember the date but one day when he had gone to ATM of HDFC Bank at Kala Amb for withdrawal of amount from his PNB account through ATM and was not able to withdraw the amount from one machine, then person standing there told him that amount could be withdrawn from another machine and he took his ATM and withdrew Rs.4000/- for him from another machine. He has further stated that during that exercise, he exchanged his ATM with another which was not noticed by him and thereafter he came back to home and on next morning, he found a number of messages with regard to withdrawal of amount from his account and total amount of Rs.96,000/- was withdrawn, whereupon, he visited the PNB bank Branch Kheri to check the balance amount in his account, then it was informed by Manager of Bank that during previous night, from different places at Delhi Rs.96,000/- had been withdrawn or transferred from his account, on which he reported the . matter to police at P.S. Kala Amb. He has further stated that two persons had met him in ATM and police had shown him the footage of CCTV of ATM, thereupon, he had identified those persons in said footage. He has also stated that now the amount withdrawn from his account by those accused persons has been returned to him by one boy namely Kuldeep, who was present in person, accompanied by one Jagdish, who was also present in person on that day and Kuldeep Singh was one of those persons who had exchanged his ATM card on the date of incident at Kala Amb. It is also stated by him that since now he has received the amount, therefore, he is not interested to continue the criminal proceedings including trial against the accused and after receiving the amount, he entered into an agreement/compromise with accused Kuldeep Singh, which has been signed by him with free consent and without any duress, coercion or undue influence of any type from any party and he has also identified his signatures on copy of compromise deed, placed on record as Annexure P-2. No cross examination has been conducted by learned counsel for the petitioner.

(3.) It is contended on behalf of respondent-State that accused is not entitled to invoke inherent jurisdiction of this Court to exercise its power keeping in view the nature of offence committed by petitioner.