In Brief
A company challenged an interim order by the Bombay High Court protecting three individuals from arrest while considering their petition to quash an FIR for fraud and forgery. The Supreme Court held that the High Court cannot pass blanket 'no coercive steps' orders without assigning reasons, particularly when facts are still unclear and investigation is ongoing. The Court reaffirmed that police have a statutory duty to investigate cognizable offences and that quashing should occur only in rarest cases where no offence is disclosed. Where an accused apprehends arrest, the remedy is anticipatory bail under Section 438 Cr.P.C., not ad-hoc interim protection from the High Court. The Court set aside the interim order and directed High Courts to stop passing such unlawful orders without proper legal basis and reasoning.
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