How to Quash FIR in India: Procedure and Grounds

First Information Report is the first step toward the criminal proceeding that leads to the trial and punishment of a criminal. It is also the most important supportive evidence on which the entire structure of the prosecution case is built. The main objective of F.I.R is to enable the police officer-in-charge of the police station to initiate the investigation of the crime and to collect evidence as soon as possible. It is the first report of the crime and so it is a valuable document that throws much light on the crime. It is also important because it is a statement soon after the occurrence of crime without fabrication and any prosecution case that may be subsequently made up can be checked in the light of the first report. F.I.R is an important document although it is not a substantive piece of evidence and at times it affects the prosecution case. Therefore correct recording of FIR is required. F.I.R should contain as much information as is available at the time of recording it.

How to Quash an FIR?

An FIR can be quashed by the High Court if the court is convinced that the person is innocent and has been falsely implicated. A High Court can quash the FIR on the ground that the case is a false case and will ask the police to set the aggrieved person free if he has been arrested. Compoundable and Non-Compoundable Cases There are two types of offenses specified in the Indian Penal Code these are compoundable and non-compoundable cases. This has been classified on the basis that whether the parties are free to settle the case among themselves outside the court or not.

• The offenses which can be settled by the parties outside the court are classified as Compoundable offenses.

• The offenses which are not allowed to be settled outside the court are known as Non-Compoundable offenses.

• The offenses in which the lawmakers thought would be better than the competent parties settle the case within themselves by giving the victim a particular amount of compensation or damage for the loss which he has suffered are classified as compoundable offenses.

• There are offenses in which there is no amount of money or asset which could compensate for the loss that occurred, those offenses are not allowed to be compounded or settled between the parties themselves and the court itself is the only authority that has the power to deal with the case.

• A compoundable offense can be compounded only and only if both the parties have given their free consent to the decision and no one can force a person to compound a particular compoundable offense.

• A person who has been accused of committing any non-compoundable offense and against whom an FIR has been registered can approach the court and ask the court to quash the FIR if he has been implicated falsely and illegally and there is evidence that not even prima facie any offense is made out against him or that there are glaring irregularities that make it implausible for him to be convicted.

Inherent Powers of the High Court The Code of Criminal Procedure under Section 482 explained the inherent powers of the High Court.

• Section 482 of the code specifies that a High Court has got the power to act in any manner in order to make the two ends of justice meet.

• Under this section, a High Court can quash an FIR if it thinks that the FIR which has been lodged is a false one and was done with the sole motive to defame and trouble the aggrieved person.

• If any person has been implicated and accused of a non-compoundable offense then he can approach a High Court and file a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution read with Section 482 of CrPC.

• The burden of proof is on the petitioner to prove that the FIR has been lodged only for malicious reasons and to trouble the petitioner.

Article 498-A and Quashing of FIR

The most common case in which a High Court uses its power is the case of Dowry Harassment and Section 498-A (domestic violence). Some women use this as a tool to pressurize their in-laws or husbands and filing of false cases is rife. The aggrieved person can approach a High Court and request the court to quash the FIR as it has been lodged with the only purpose to defame or trouble him. There have been many cases in which an appeal was made to the Supreme Court of India that a particular offense FIR cannot be quashed or it is not under the jurisdiction of a High Court to quash it, responding to this the Supreme Court in all the cases has very clearly specified that Section 482 of the CrPC gives the High Court this power and it cannot be questioned. The High Court can use its inherent powers to quash an FIR of any offense in which it is satisfied that it was required to do so. The laws have been made to make sure that no one is suppressing anyone and if someone is then he shall be punished. But there are a number of circumstances in which a person uses these laws which are favoring him to trouble, innocent people. To tackle this the lawmakers have given the High Court the power to quash an FIR if they are satisfied that it was lodged with the only motive to trouble the person and there is no need to continue the legal proceedings against that person.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty

4.0 | 2+ user ratings Greater Kailash - 1, Delhi
5 years

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