Madras HC Quashes FIR Against Temple Trustees After 11 Pledged Sovereigns Were Recovered And Kept In Joint Locker With Complainant Holding Keys

The petitioners, described as A1, A3 to A5, sought to quash Crime No. 20 of 2024, registered for offences under Sections 406, 147, 148, 294(b) and 506(ii) of the IPC.

The FIR alleged that the petitioners, trustees of a private temple, had pledged 11 sovereigns of gold jewels gifted to the temple and had later abused and threatened the de-facto complainant, the temple poojari.

In an earlier anticipatory-bail proceeding, the Court had directed that a bank locker be opened jointly in the names of A1 and the complainant for the jewels.

An agreement dated 29 February 2024 recorded that the jewels had been recovered and placed in a joint locker at Indian Overseas Bank, Bodinayakkanur Branch, with the keys retained by the complainant.

The complainant did not appear despite service of notice.

The petition was brought under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking the High Court’s jurisdiction to quash the FIR.

The offences alleged were under Sections 406, 147, 148, 294(b) and 506(ii) of the IPC.

The Court cited no precedent and did not set out a separate test for exercising the quashing jurisdiction; its stated basis was its assessment of the recovery and custody of the jewels and the relationship of the remaining allegations to their non-return.

The Court accepted that the jewels had been recovered and kept in a joint locker, and noted that the complainant retained the locker keys.

It further treated the allegations of abuse and criminal intimidation as arising from the non-return of those jewels.

In light of the recovery and the complainant’s control of the keys, the Court found no reason to continue the criminal proceedings.

The connected miscellaneous petition was closed.