Response

Where a false FIR is lodged against a person by someone to falsely implicate him in a false case, then in such a case-

Application filed u/s 482 of Crpc for Quashing frivolous FIR
The Application can be filed by a person under Sec 482 of Crpc to the High court for getting the frivolous FIR filed against him quashed.

Sec 482. Saving of inherent powers of High Court. Under this Section, High court has been vested with the inherent powers to pass any order which is necessary in order to-

Prevent abuse of process of Courts; or
To secure ends of justice to the people.
In Som Mittal v. Govt. of Karnataka, the Supreme Court held that,

When grave miscarriage of justice would be committed if the trial is allowed to proceed; or
Where the accused would be harassed unnecessarily if the trial is allowed; or
When prima facie it appears to Court that the trial would likely to be ended in acquittal.
Then the inherent power of the Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be invoked by the High Court either

To prevent abuse of process of any Court, or otherwise
To secure the ends of justice
Grounds on the basis of which one can go to High Court under Sec 482 of Crpc for Quashing a frivolous FIR
The Person can approach the High Court for getting the false FIR quashed by filing an application under Sec 482 of Crpc on the following grounds-

The Acts or omission on the basis of which the FIR has been lodged does not constitute an offence.
The Offence for which the FIR has been registered against the accused has never happened;
The FIR contains merely baseless allegations without any reasonable ground to prove an offence against the accused.
In the case of Abasaheb Homme versus the State of Maharashtra, it was held that the power of the court to quash the FIR should be exercised sparingly and subject to the satisfaction of the condition precedents to exercise of such power.

The doctrine of inherent power is the basic support for the exercise of such power. The court is invested with such power to do justice and to ensure that basic rule of law is not violated. In the provisions of section 482 of the Code. Power to quash is one of the powers where the court would be empowered to quash the FIR or even a criminal proceeding in furtherance thereto;

Different stages when Application under Sec 482 can be filed for quashing a false FIR
The Application under Sec 482 of Crpc can be made to High Court for getting false FIR quashed-

Before Filing the charge sheet by the police;
After Filing charge sheet by the police;
During the pendency of Trial or after the Commencement of the Trial.
Before Filing the charge sheet by the police Ð Where an application has been filed by a person under Sec 482 of Crpc for getting the FIR quashed, The High court can quash such false FIR if it is against the principle of Natural justice cause a grave miscarriage of justice to the victim.The court also has the power to reprimand such police officer or can issue certain directions for such officer.
2. After Filing charge sheet by the police Ð If the charge sheet has been filed on the basis of frivolous FIR, and the case is committed to session judge and before commencement of trial, the accused can file a discharge Application u/s 227 of Crpc, in order to get discharged from the offence charged with on the basis of false FIR against him on the following groundsÐ

That the charge sheet contains no prima facie evidence against the accused in respect of the offence with which it is charged.
The trial cannot be commenced against the accused because of insufficiency of evidence on record.
The evidence on record is inadmissible as evidence under the Indian Evidence Act.
3. After the Commencement of trial Ð If the discharge Application u/s 227 of Crpc filed by the accused has been rejected by Session court, and the charge is framed and the trial is commenced then Application under Sec 232 of Crpc can only be made for the Acquittal of the Accused.

Guidelines by Supreme Court where the false FIR can be Quashed u/s 482 of CrPC
The Guidelines has been laid down by Supreme court explaining the Circumstances in which the False FIR can be Quashed in Sundar Babu & Ors vs. State of Tamil Nadu.

Where the FIR lodged against the accused does not contain any prima facie evidence against the accused in respect of the offence with which it is charged.
Where the allegation made in the FIR does not disclose any Cognizable Offence against the accused.
Where the Allegations made in the FIR and the evidence collected by the police on the basis of such evidence does not disclose commission of any offence that constitutes a case against the accused.
Where the offence disclosed in the FIR is a non-cognizable offence in such a case, the police cannot start the investigation without the order of the Magistrate u/s 155(2) of CrPC.
Where the Allegations made in the FIR are unbelievable, absurd that there is no ground to initiate the proceedings against the person.
Where there is an express bar to initiate the Legal proceedings in any Act dealing with criminal matters.
Where the FIR has been lodged Maliciously or proceedings are instituted wrongly, in order to falsely implicate a person in a false case to satisfy his personal grudge.

Reference: CrPC.

20210013520210010604

LAWAYZ-2023-479