Alleged negligent death falls outside Section 105 BNS; FIR quashed following settlement.

The petitioners sought to quash Crime No. 254/2026, registered under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), after the complainant’s brother died at a construction site, leaving a wife and three children.

During the proceedings, the parties reached a settlement.

The petitioners offered a total of ₹17 lakh by two demand drafts as full and final settlement.

1. Whether the FIR and consequential proceedings under Section 105 BNS could be quashed where the Court considered that provision inapplicable to the alleged conduct

2. Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent powers to quash the proceedings in view of the parties’ settlement, subject to safeguards for the deceased’s minor children

Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (corresponding to Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973) preserves the High Court’s inherent power to quash criminal proceedings.

The Court relied on Santosh v. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Another, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 7645, which discussed the principles in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Laxmi Narayan, (2019) 5 SCC 688, and Ramgopal v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2021 INSC 568: proceedings involving non-compoundable offences may be quashed in appropriate cases where the dispute is private in nature, the settlement is voluntary, and quashing would not undermine societal interests.

The Court also distinguished Section 105 BNS, concerning culpable homicide not amounting to murder, from Section 106 BNS, concerning causing death by negligence.

The Court considered the death at a construction site and concluded that Section 105 BNS was not attracted on the facts presented; the alleged conduct could instead fall within Section 106 BNS.

It accepted the parties’ settlement, applying the approach in Santosh to the compromise-based quashing of criminal proceedings.

Given that the deceased left three minor children, the Court directed that the settlement funds be structured to protect their interests: ₹5 lakh for each child, with the interest available for their welfare, and ₹2 lakh for the family’s day-to-day expenses.

The petitioners were directed to make the specified deposits and payment, hand over the fixed-deposit bonds to the deceased’s wife, and file an affidavit of compliance within one week of receiving the order.