Mr Om Prakash Batra v. The State Govt. of NCT Delhi & Anr

J U D G M E N T (oral)

¶1Petitioner herein seeks quashing of FIR No.731/2015 dated

17.10.2015, registered at Police Station Paschim Vihar (West), for commission of offences under Sections 406/420/467/471 IPC, along with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom, on the basis of compromise arrived at between the parties.

¶2The abovesaid FIR was registered on the basis of direction given by the learned Trial Court on the basis of an application filed under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. The complaint was filed by Mr. Ravinder Thapar, who is unfortunately no longer alive.

¶3As per the averments made by him, he had advanced a friendly loan of Rs.3 lacs to the accused who claimed that he was facing a financial crunch

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and was in dire need of money. According to him, in lieu of the abovesaid liability, petitioner No.1 issued one cheque which was, eventually, found to be a forged one. It was on the abovesaid factual backdrop that a complaint was filed in which the learned Trial Court had given direction to register FIR.

¶4The charge-sheet has already been filed, albeit, charges are yet to be ascertained.

¶5The matter has, however, been settled in the interregnum between complainant-Mr. Ravinder Thapar and accused-Mr Om Prakash Batra as would be evident from settlement deed dated 09.01.2024 which is signed by both of them.

¶6As per the settlement terms, amount of Rs.3.5 lacs has been duly paid to the complainant and, therefore, the complainant expressed his no objection to the quashing of the FIR.

¶7Fact, however, remains that after the abovesaid settlement, Mr. Ravinder Thapar, unfortunately, died on 18.02.2024. His death has been duly verified by the prosecution. The amended memo of parties has also been placed on record and now the matter is being pursued by his wife and two children.

¶8Such LRs have joined the proceedings through video-conferencing and submit that amount of Rs.3.5 lacs has already been received and that they would have no objection if the FIR in question is quashed.

¶9All the legal representatives of the deceased have been duly identified by their counsel. They state that they, too, have entered into settlement out of their own free will, without any coercion and influence from any corner.

¶10In view of the settlement arrived at between the parties, continuing with criminal proceedings would serve no useful purpose, especially, when dispute

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does not involve any public interest and is, primarily, private in nature. In any case, even the LRs of deceased complainant do not wish to press any charges against the petitioners.

¶11Accordingly, exercising inherent powers vested in this Court under Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, it is deemed appropriate to quash the instant FIR.

¶12Consequently, to secure the ends of justice, FIR No.731/2015 dated

17.10.2015, registered at Police Station Paschim Vihar (West), for commission of offences under Sections 406/420/467/471 IPC, along with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom, is, hereby, quashed. Original affidavits and MoU of the parties, copies of which have been placed on record in the present proceedings, shall be submitted before the learned Trial Court within four weeks from today.

¶13The petition stands disposed of in aforesaid terms.

(MANOJ JAIN) JUDGE SEPTEMBER 1, 2026/ss/sk

CRL.M.C. 842/2024 1 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of Decision: 1st September, 2026 # CNR No. DLHC010035392024 + CRL.M.C. 842/2024 MR OM PRAKASH BATRA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Sidhant Antil and Mr. Sourav Kumar, Advocates. versus THE STATE GOVT. OF NCT DELHI & ANR. .....Respondent Through: Mr. Aashneet Singh, APP for the State. Ms. Suruchi Thapar, Advocate for R-2 with LRs of R-2 (through V.C.) CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ JAIN