In Brief
Volkswagen and Skoda manufacturers challenged the quashing refusal of an FIR alleging fraud and misrepresentation regarding defeat devices (emission-suppressing software) in vehicles sold to a customer. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. It held that pending civil appeals about environmental breach before the NGT do not bar a separate criminal investigation into allegations of fraud by a specific purchaser. Factual disputes (whether devices existed, whether misrepresentation occurred) cannot be examined in quash petitions. The FIR disclosed cognizable offences; courts cannot quash when an offence is even broadly disclosed, as investigation is police jurisdiction.
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