Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
We are unable to agree with the contention of the learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that the substratum of the police complaint is something that is already the subject matter of adjudication before this Court in the appeals arising out of the order of the NGT. As a matter of fact, the High Court has been fair to the petitioner, by granting protection against arrest till the filing of the report under section 173(2) of the Code. We do not think that the petitioner can ask for anything more.
It is needless to point out that ever since the decision of the Privy Council in King Emperor vs. Khwaja Nazir Ahmed1, the law is well settled that Courts would not thwart any investigation. It is only in cases where no cognizable offence or offence of any kind is disclosed in the first information report that the Court will not permit an investigation to go on. As cautioned by this Court in State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal2, the power of quashing should be exercised very sparingly and with circumspection and that too in the rarest of rare cases. While examining a complaint, the quashing of which is sought, the Court cannot embark upon an enquiry as to the reliability or genuineness or otherwise of the allegations made in the FIR or in the complaint. In S.M. Datta vs. State of Gujarat3, this Court again cautioned that criminal proceedings ought not to be scuttled at the initial stage. Quashing of a complaint should rather be an exception and a rarity than an ordinary rule. In S.M. Datta (supra), this Court held that if a perusal of the first information report leads to disclosure of an offence even broadly, law courts are barred from usurping the jurisdiction of the police, since the two organs of the State operate in two specific spheres of activities and one ought not to tread over the other sphere.
FULL TEXT OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT
1. Aggrieved by the refusal of the High Court to quash a First Information Report (FIR for short) registered against them for the offences punishable under Sections 34, 471, 468, 467, 420, 419 and 406 IPC, the petitioner has come up with the above Special Leave Petition.
2. We have heard Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner. Mr. Maninder Singh, learned senior counsel appears for the 3rd Respondent, who is the de facto complainant.
3. The petitioner is a Company headquartered in Pune and is engaged in the business of manufacture, import and sale of passenger vehicles in India. It is claimed that the petitioner has been formed by the amalgamation of three Companies by name Skoda Auto India Private Limited, Volkswagen India Private Limited and Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited. The petitioner claims that they are responsible for the business operations of five automobile brands namely, Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborgini.
4. The Automotive Research Association of India, which is a research institution of the automotive industry attached to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises of the Government of India issued a notice dated 04.11.2015 to the Managing Directors of Skoda Auto India Private Limited, Volkswagen India Private Limited and Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited, calling upon them to show cause as to why they should not come to the conclusion that the vehicles manufactured and sold by them in India, are in violation of the requirements of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. It was alleged in the said notice that the study carried out by them on limited vehicle models fitted with Diesel EA 189 Engines led them to believe that the vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen, when tested on road, indicate 3-9 times more NOx pollution compared with the tests carried out in the laboratory on Modified Indian Driving Cycle (MIDC). It was also alleged in the said notice that they had reason to believe that Diesel EA 189 Engines fitted in BS-IV vehicles are equipped with what are called ‘defeat devices’.
5. At about the same time, two original applications came to be filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT for short), Principal Bench. Both the applications were primarily against Skoda Auto India Private Limited, Volkswagen India Private Limited and Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited. Apart from these three companies, the Union of India (UOI), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and a few others were also made parties to the original applications.
6. The particulars of these original applications are presented in a tabular column for easy appreciation:-
