In Brief
The appellant, as Chief Executive Trustee of a charitable trust, was accused of fraud and forgery in a private complaint filed by a co-trustee. When the appellant filed a counter-complaint against the Treasurer, alleging he had misappropriated trust funds, the High Court quashed the second FIR as impermissible under the law against filing multiple FIRs for the same incident. The Supreme Court held that a counter-FIR presenting rival allegations is legally permissible and not prohibited. The Court distinguished between multiple complaints by the same person (forbidden) and counter-complaints by an accused presenting an alternative version (permitted). The appeal was allowed and the case was restored for trial on merits.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.