High Court may quash non-compoundable matrimonial offences under Section 482 CrPC after amicable settlement.

Respondent No. 2 lodged FIR No. 54 of 2022 at Police Station Sitarganj, Udham Singh Nagar, alleging matrimonial cruelty, dowry harassment, assault, insult, criminal intimidation, and ouster from the matrimonial home.

Following investigation, the police filed a charge sheet dated 25 July 2022 for offences under Sections 323, 498A, 504 and 506 IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

The Magistrate took cognizance and summoned the applicants by order dated 5 January 2023 in Criminal Case No. 40 of 2023.

The applicants invoked Section 482 CrPC seeking quashing of the charge sheet, summoning order, and criminal proceedings.

During the pendency of the application, the matrimonial parties entered into an amicable settlement before the Daily Lok Adalat on 7 August 2024, including settlement of the criminal proceedings and related disputes.

1. Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC to quash proceedings involving Sections 323, 498A, 504 and 506 IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, when the matrimonial dispute has been amicably settled between the parties.

2. Whether continuation of the criminal proceedings would serve any useful purpose after the complainant and the accused have entered into a bona fide compromise.

The Court applied Section 482 CrPC, which preserves the High Court’s inherent power to prevent abuse of the process of any court and to secure the ends of justice.

It relied principally on B.S. Joshi v. State of Haryana, (2003) 4 SCC 675, holding that matrimonial criminal proceedings may be quashed on the basis of a genuine settlement even where the offences are technically non-compoundable, particularly when the complainant is unlikely to support the prosecution and continuation of the case would serve no useful purpose.

The Court also relied on State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy, (1977) 2 SCC 699, for the principle that proceedings may be quashed where the interests of justice so require and the prosecution lacks a reasonable likelihood of resulting in conviction.

The dispute arose from matrimonial discord and the parties had expressly settled their disputes through a written compromise recorded by the Daily Lok Adalat.

Respondent No. 2 supported the applicants’ request for quashing, and the State had no objection because the proceedings concerned a matrimonial dispute that had been amicably resolved.

Applying B.S. Joshi and the broader ends-of-justice principle under Section 482 CrPC, the Court held that continuation of the prosecution would be purposeless after settlement, particularly since the complainant’s non-support would substantially undermine the likelihood of conviction.

The Court therefore treated the compromise as a sufficient basis for exercising its inherent jurisdiction notwithstanding the non-compoundable nature of some of the alleged offences.

Pending applications, if any, were also disposed of.