In Brief
The Supreme Court reversed the High Court's decision to quash a criminal case for alleged forgery and fabrication of a deceased's will. The case alleged that accused-respondents forged the signatures of the deceased on a will using stolen stamp papers. The High Court had quashed the FIR partly because the complainant had not challenged the will's genuineness through a civil suit. The Supreme Court held that the power to quash under Section 482 Cr.P.C. must be exercised sparingly, only in exceptional circumstances, and the allegations in the FIR ex-facie disclose an offence. The pendency of a civil suit cannot prevent criminal proceedings when a crime is alleged.
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