Quashing Of FIR- Detailed Enquiry On Merits Not Warranted U/s 482 CrPC, Reiterates Supreme Court

The Supreme court reiterated that a detailed enquiry into the merits of the allegations is not warranted while exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah observed that while exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the High Court ought not to be scrutinizing the material in the manner in which the trial court would do in the course of the criminal trial after evidence is adduced.

FIR is not expected to be an encyclopedia, the bench said setting aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court judgment which quashed a criminal case against a Block Medical Officer.

In this case, the FIR was lodged against a Block Medical Officer, after the head of National Rural Health Mission and the committee appointed by the District Collector found financial irregularities in the administration of the 'Janani Mobility Express' Scheme. The High Court, allowing the petition filed by the accused-officer, observed that though there is a presumption in cases involving financial irregularities and there is a burden on the person approving a financial proposal to be cautious, any negligence in performing the duties would not incur criminal liability unless specific unlawful gain is indicated. 

In appeal, the bench observed that there are specific allegations in regard to the irregularities which have been committed in the course of the work.

"At this stage, the High Court ought not to be scrutinizing the material in the manner in which the trial court would do in the course of the criminal trial after evidence is adduced. In doing so, the High Court has exceeded the well-settled limits on the exercise of the jurisdiction under Section 482 of CrPC. A detailed enquiry into the merits of the allegations was not warranted. The FIR is not expected to be an encyclopedia, particularly, in a matter involving financial irregularities in the course of the administration of a public scheme. A final report has been submitted under Section 173 of CrPC, after investigation.", the bench said while setting aside the High court order.

Case: State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Kunwar Singh ; CrA 709 of 2021

Coram: Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah

Counsel: Adv Praneet Pranav, Varun Raghavan

Citation: LL2021SC344

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