Section 482 permits quashing where parties amicably settle a purely private dispute.

The petitioners sought to quash the order dated 30 June 2022 by which the S.D.J.M., Dehri-On-Sone, took cognizance in Dehri (D.L.M.) P.S. Case No. 232 of 2017 for offences under Sections 419, 420, 468, 471 and 120(B) IPC

The case alleged that the petitioners and others operated a fictitious organisation and obtained money from the informant and others

The petitioners disputed their alleged roles and the sufficiency of the material against them

They later offered to pay the informant Rs. 2,42,000; the informant accepted the demand draft and agreed to settle the dispute, stating that he had no objection to quashing the proceedings against the petitioners

Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash the criminal proceedings against the petitioners in light of the parties’ settlement

Whether the cognizance order and resulting prosecution, insofar as they concerned the petitioners, should be set aside

Section 482 Cr.P.C. preserves the High Court’s inherent power to prevent abuse of the process of court and secure the ends of justice.

In Parbatbhai Aahir and Ors. v. State of Gujarat and Anr., (2017) 9 SCC 641, the Supreme Court held that an amicable settlement may be considered in exercising that power where the dispute is private, the compromise is voluntary and free from coercion, and continuation of the prosecution would serve no legitimate purpose

The underlying prosecution invoked Sections 419, 420, 468, 471 and 120(B) IPC

The Court accepted the parties’ settlement after noting that the agreed sum of Rs. 2,42,000 had been paid by demand draft and that the informant’s counsel expressly consented to quashing

It found no external influence on the compromise and treated the dispute as private, without an impact on society at large

Applying Parbatbhai Aahir, the Court concluded that continuing the prosecution against the petitioners would serve no legitimate or useful purpose