Kerala High Court: Correctness of Allegations in FIR to be Tested During Trial, Not by High Court While Exercising Jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC
- Published on: Apr 24, 2023
The Kerala High Court has recently reiterated that it cannot examine the correctness or otherwise of the allegations raised in a criminal complaint while exercising its power under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to quash criminal proceedings. In a case involving allegations of harassment, mental and physical abuse, and misappropriation of assets, the court stated that the correctness of allegations in an FIR must be tested during a trial, and only unimpeachable documents could be looked into in exceptional cases while exercising jurisdiction under Section 482. Case Background: The case involved the husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law of a woman who alleged that she was harassed and abused to fulfill their property demands, and her assets were misappropriated. An FIR was registered against them, and the court framed charges under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Issue before the Court: The petitioners argued that the FIR and other materials before the Trial Court did not reveal the offense under Section 498-A of IPC, and thus the FIR should be quashed.
Arguments of the Parties: The Public Prosecutor argued that the FIR revealed the required ingredients to constitute an offense under Section 498-A IPC. The counsels for the respondents relied on the decision in Minakshi Bala v. Sudhir Kumar & Ors. (1994), wherein it had been laid down that only in rarest of rare cases could the Court exercise the jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C to quash the proceedings in a case where the Trial Court had already framed charges against the accused.
Verdict of the Court: The court relied on previous Supreme Court decisions and stated that the High Court should proceed entirely on the basis of the allegations made in the complaint or the documents accompanying the same per se while exercising its power under Section 482. The Court cannot examine the reliability or genuineness of the allegations made in the Final Report or the complaint. A finding on the veracity of a material relied on by the prosecution in a case where the allegations disclose a cognizable offence is not a consideration for the High Court while exercising its power under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
Conclusion: The Court concluded that the material placed before it revealed allegations that attracted the offense under Section 498-A of IPC. The correctness or otherwise of the allegations levelled in the FIR and the Final Report is a matter to be tested during the course of the trial. The Court dismissed the petition.
Overall, the case emphasizes the importance of relying on the allegations made in a complaint or accompanying documents while exercising the power under Section 482 of the CrPC to quash criminal proceedings. The Court's decision highlights that the reliability or genuineness of the allegations should not be examined while exercising this power, and that the veracity of the allegations should be tested during the trial.
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