IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.2373 OF 2009 (Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No.8689 of 2008)

Kuldip Kaur                       ...Appellant(s)

Versus

State of Punjab and Ors.                   ...Respondent(s)

With Criminal Appeal No.2374 of 2009  (Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No.9575 of 2008)

O  R  D  E  R

Leave granted.

These appeals are directed against the order dated  

18th July,  2008,  passed  by  the  High  Court  of  Punjab  and  

Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Miscellaneous No.44599-M of  

2007 and Criminal Miscellaneous No.9584-M of 2008.

The appellants main grievance before this Court is  

that Karamjit Kaur left the matrimonial home on 4th July, 1999  

and the First Information Report [for short, `F.I.R.'] was  

registered on 16th February, 2006, after a lapse of six years.  

We have heard learned counsel for the parties.

The F.I.R. was filed after a lapse of six years and  

there is no satisfactory explanation of this inordinate delay  

in filing the F.I.R.

....2/-

- 2 -

On consideration of the totality of the facts and  

circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice, we  

deem it appropriate to quash the F.I.R.  Consequently, the  

charges framed against the appellants-Kuldip Kaur and Gurdev  

Singh are also quashed.

With the above observation, the appeals are disposed  

of.

......................J.               [DALVEER BHANDARI]

......................J.               [A.K. PATNAIK]

New Delhi, December 11, 2009.