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Writer's pictureChambers of Daksha Kumar

Can a Chargesheet be partly quashed?

Updated: Aug 14, 2022




The Supreme Court of India in its judgment in the case of Ishwar Pratap Singh & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., 2017 opined that there is no prohibition under the law for quashing the chargesheet in part. In a petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the High Court is required to examine whether its intervention is required for the prevention of abuse of the process of law or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. The Supreme Court of India held as under:


"9. Having regard to the settled legal position on external interference in investigation and the specific facts of this case, we are of the view that the High Court ought to have exercised its jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to secure the ends of justice. There is no prohibition under the law for quashing a chargesheet in part. A person may be accused of several offences under different penal statutes, as in the instant case. He could be aggrieved of prosecution only on a particular charge or charges, on any ground available to him in law.


Under Section 482 Cr.P.C., all that the High Court is required to examine is whether its intervention is required for implementing orders under the Criminal Procedure Code or for prevention of abuse of process, or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. A chargesheet filed at the dictate of somebody other than the police would amount to abuse of the process of law and hence the High Court ought to have exercised its inherent powers under Section 482 to the extent of the abuse. There is no requirement that the chargesheet has to be quashed as a whole and not in part. Accordingly, this appeal is allowed. The supplementary report filed by the police, at the direction of the Commission, is quashed."

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