Criminal proceedings for predominantly civil offences may be quashed upon amicable settlement.

ASL Enterprises Ltd., its director Dilip Goel, and Mahesh Kumar Agiwal challenged the criminal proceedings arising from Sakchi P.S. Case No. 141 of 2018, corresponding to G.R. No. 1929 of 2018.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jamshedpur had taken cognizance on 10 March 2021 of offences under Sections 406, 420 and 506/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

The petitioners invoked the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking quashing of the entire proceeding and the cognizance order.

No charge had been framed, and the matter was pending for appearance of the accused.

During the proceedings, the petitioners and the informant, Ratneshwar Kumar Pathak, filed affidavits stating that, with the intervention of well-wishers, they had amicably compromised the dispute and that the informant no longer wished to pursue the case.

The parties characterized the dispute as civil, private, and arising out of a misunderstanding.

The State raised no objection to the quashing of the proceedings in view of the settlement.

Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023 to quash the criminal proceedings and the order taking cognizance under Sections 406, 420 and 506/34 IPC on the basis of an amicable settlement between the parties.

Whether the private and civil nature of the dispute, together with the compromise and the remote possibility of conviction, justified termination of the criminal case in the interests of justice.

The Court applied Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023, which preserves the High Court’s inherent power to prevent abuse of the process of any court and to secure the ends of justice.

Relying on Parbatbhai Aahir @ Parbatbhai Bhimsinhbhai Karmur v. State of Gujarat, (2017) 9 SCC 641, which reiterated the principles in Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, (2012) 10 SCC 303, the Court held that criminal proceedings may be quashed where the dispute is overwhelmingly civil, commercial, financial, mercantile, personal, or otherwise private in nature, the parties have fully settled their dispute, and the possibility of conviction is remote and continuation of the prosecution would cause injustice.

However, heinous and serious offences involving mental depravity, offences having a serious societal impact, and offences under special statutes ordinarily cannot be quashed merely on the basis of compromise.

The relevant offences alleged in the case were under Sections 406, 420 and 506/34 IPC.

The Court found that the alleged offences were neither heinous nor indicative of serious mental depravity and that the dispute was essentially civil and private in character.

Since the informant had voluntarily settled the dispute, expressly stated that he did not wish to proceed, and the State had no objection, the possibility of conviction was considered remote.

Applying the principles in Parbatbhai Aahir and Gian Singh, the Court concluded that continuing the prosecution despite the settlement would cause hardship to the petitioners and would not serve the ends of justice.

The connected Interlocutory Application No. 10824 of 2026 was consequently disposed of.