SC's guidelines on quashing of criminal cases

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that high courts should not quash criminal proceedings against accused unless the allegations, even if taken on face value, disclose no cognisable offence.
    
Citing a number of earlier judicial rulings, a bench of Justices S B Sinha and Aftab Alam said, if the allegations made in the FIR disclose commission of an offence, the court shall not go beyond the same and pass an order in favour of the accused.
    
"The court while exercising its inherent jurisdiction, although would not interfere with a genuine complaint keeping in view the purport and object for which the provisions of Section 482 and 483 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had been introduced."
    
The said sections give inherent powers to the high court to quash criminal proceedings against accused persons if it is satisfied that no cognisable offence had been committed by the accused.
    
The apex court passed the observation while dealing with an appeal filed by a woman challenging the quashing of criminal cases against some persons involving certain money transactions.