In Brief
A company obtained fraudulent bank credit by submitting forged stock statements, causing loss to the State Bank of Patiala. After settling with the bank under a One Time Settlement scheme years later, the company sought to quash the criminal proceedings through the High Court's inherent powers, citing the compromise. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the High Court ordinarily cannot use Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to circumvent the statutory prohibition on compounding non-compoundable offences like forgery and fraud. The Court reaffirmed the doctrine of judicial restraint and separation of powers as foundational to the rule of law, though it left open the question of whether circumstances might permit quashing in specific cases.
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