Karnataka HC Quashes Proceedings Against Compounder Who Gave Abortion Injection, Citing Records Of Wife And Husband’s Consent

The complainant alleged that, while pregnant, she was taken by her husband and his family to a hospital and given an injection to induce an abortion against her will.

The petitioner, a compounder, allegedly administered the injection, after which the complainant suffered heavy bleeding and the foetus died in utero.

Following investigation, the petitioner was summoned as Accused No. 7 under an order dated 17 October 2023, made on the State’s application under Section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in the pending Special Case.

He sought to quash that order and the proceedings against him, contending that the complainant and her husband had consented to the abortion and that he acted on a doctor’s instructions.

The petition invoked the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC (also referenced in the cause title with Section 528 BNSS), and challenged an order summoning the petitioner under Section 319 CrPC.

The alleged offences arose under Sections 376(2)(n), 498-A and 504 IPC; Sections 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 of the POCSO Act, 2012; and Sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

The Court did not cite precedent or set out a detailed test for either Section 319 or quashing proceedings; it assessed the charge-sheet materials and the recorded consent, and relied on securing the ends of justice.

The Court noted that the petitioner’s alleged role was administering the injection said to have caused the miscarriage.

It then found that the records indicated that the complainant and Accused No. 1, described as the foetus’s parents, had consented to an abortion.

Considering that consent alongside the other facts and circumstances, the Court concluded that quashing the summoning order and the proceedings against the petitioner was appropriate to secure the ends of justice.