High Court Quashes Criminal Proceeding Following Amicable Settlement in Non-Heinous Offences to Secure Ends of Justice

The petitioner filed this criminal miscellaneous petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, seeking to quash the entire criminal proceeding and the order framing charges dated 04.09.2024

The proceedings originated from Khunti (Mahila) P.S. Case No. 14 of 2022 (G.R. Case No. 693 of 2022)

During the trial, six witnesses were examined; five turned hostile, and one was a hearsay witness

While the case was pending, the petitioner and the victim/informant (Opposite Party No. 2) amicably resolved their disputes through the intervention of society elders and filed an interlocutory application supported by affidavits to reflect this compromise

1. Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent power to quash a criminal proceeding when the parties have reached a private settlement and the possibility of conviction is remote.

Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023 (formerly Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.), which saves the inherent power of the High Court to prevent abuse of the process of law and secure the ends of justice

Precedent established in Parbatbhai Aahir @ Parbatbhai Bhimsinhbhai Karmur and Others vs. State of Gujarat and Another (2017) 9 SCC 641, which provides that while heinous crimes like murder or rape cannot be quashed via compromise, cases with a "predominantly civil flavour," matrimonial disputes, or private family matters can be quashed if the settlement makes conviction "remote and bleak" and continuation of the case would cause "extreme injustice"

The court observed that the dispute between the parties was private in nature and resulted from a misunderstanding rather than a heinous offence or an act of mental depravity

By examining the record, the court noted that the prosecution's case was already crumbling, as five out of six witnesses had failed to support the case

The court applied the Parbatbhai Aahir guidelines, determining that since the parties had settled the matter through the intervention of well-wishers and the informant no longer desired to prosecute, the chance of conviction was non-existent

It reasoned that forcing the petitioner to undergo the remainder of the trial despite a private settlement would constitute an abuse of the legal process and cause unnecessary hardship

The High Court allowed the petition and quashed the entire criminal proceeding, including the order framing charges dated 04.09.2024 in Khunti (Mahila) P.S. Case No. 14 of 2022

The interlocutory application was consequently disposed of