Karnataka HC Quashes Case Over Alleged Misuse Of Woman’s Private Photos, Videos After Parties Settle

In brief

The question

1. Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure / Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to quash the proceedings on the basis of the parties’ settlement.

The court held

The Court accepted the joint memo and allowed the petition.

It also directed

It quashed the entire proceedings in Special SC/ST No. 38/2025, arising from Crime No. 74/2025, against the petitioner for the offences specified in the order; pending applications, if any, were disposed of.

01Facts

The petitioner sought to quash the FIR, complaint, charge-sheet and proceedings in Special SC/ST No. 38/2025, arising from Crime No. 74/2025.

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The case concerned allegations that he had used the complainant’s private photographs and videos without her consent and blackmailed her.

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The prosecution was registered under Sections 66(E), 67 and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, Section 78(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Section 3(2)(v-a) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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After the charge-sheet was filed, the petitioner and complainant submitted a joint memo and affidavits stating that they had amicably settled the dispute and that the petitioner undertook not to contact or disturb the complainant.

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02Issues

i.1. Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure / Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to quash the proceedings on the basis of the parties’ settlement.

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ii.2. Whether, in light of the settlement and the circumstances stated by the parties, continuation of the prosecution would serve the interests of justice.

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03Law Applied

The Court considered its inherent power under Section 482 CrPC, corresponding to Section 528 BNSS, to quash criminal proceedings in appropriate cases, including proceedings concerning non-compoundable offences, where doing so would secure the ends of justice or prevent abuse of process.

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Relying on Narinder Singh v. State of Punjab, (2014) 6 SCC 466, the Court noted that this power is to be exercised cautiously; the seriousness and societal impact of the alleged offences, the likelihood of conviction, the stage of proceedings and the circumstances of settlement are relevant considerations.

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The proceedings involved alleged offences under Sections 66(E), 67 and 67(A) of the IT Act, Section 78(2) BNS and Section 3(2)(v-a) of the SC/ST (POA) Act.

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Provisions in the judgment · 10 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Section 528

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Section 482 Section 320

Information Technology Act, 2000 Section 67

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Section 78

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Section 3

Indian Penal Code, 1860 Section 307 Section 324 Section 323 Section 34

04Reasoning

The Court accepted that the complaint arose from the alleged non-consensual use of the complainant’s private photographs and videos, but treated the parties’ settlement as a significant consideration.

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It noted that the complainant wished to withdraw from the case, that the petitioner had undertaken not to contact or disturb her, and that the investigation was complete and the charge-sheet had been filed.

pp. 14–15

Applying the settlement principles in Narinder Singh, the Court concluded that the likelihood of conviction was remote and that continuing the proceedings would be unnecessary.

pp. 7–13, 14–15

The order did not separately analyse the elements or societal impact of each charged offence.

pp. 14–15