Non-compoundable criminal proceedings quashed under Section 528 BNSS following amicable settlement of personal disputes.

The Applicants filed an application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, seeking the quashing of a charge-sheet dated 01.09.2025, a summoning order dated 03.11.2025, and the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 567 of 2025 pending before the Judicial Magistrate, Kashipur.

Applicant No. 1 was charged under Sections 109(1), 115(2), 351(3), and 352 of the B.N.S., 2023, while Applicant No. 2 was charged under Sections 109(1), 115, 351(3), and 352 of the B.N.S., 2023, and Section 30 of the Arms Act, 1959.

During the proceedings, the parties filed a joint Compounding Application (I.A. No. 01 of 2025), stating they had amicably settled their dispute.

The Court conducted a personal interaction with both the Applicants and Respondents Nos. 2 and 3, who confirmed the settlement and expressed a desire to not pursue the matter further.

Whether the High Court should exercise its inherent power under Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023, to quash criminal proceedings based on an amicable settlement when some involved offences are non-compoundable.

Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which grants the High Court inherent powers to make orders necessary to prevent abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice.

Principles governing the compounding of offences, distinguishing between crimes of a public nature and those that are purely personal disputes where the High Court may quash proceedings despite statutory bars on compounding.

The Court assessed whether the continuation of the criminal trial would serve the interests of justice or constitute an abuse of process.

Although the State Counsel opposed the quashing on the grounds that certain offences were legally non-compoundable, the Court found that the dispute was "purely personal in nature" and had been settled between the parties.

Through direct interaction, the Court verified that the parties were satisfied with the settlement and did not wish to proceed.

The Court reasoned that since the parties had reconciled, the likelihood of a successful prosecution was minimal, and forcing the continuation of the case would be a futile exercise and a waste of judicial resources.

Consequently, the Court determined that quashing the proceedings was necessary to prevent the abuse of the legal process.

It held that because the dispute was personal and settled, quashing was appropriate to serve the interest of justice.

The Court quashed the charge-sheet, the summoning order, and the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 567 of 2025 specifically in respect of the two Applicants.

The application under Section 528 of the BNSS was subsequently disposed of.