Non-compoundable Section 498-A proceedings may be quashed on voluntary settlement where conviction is remote.

The petitioners sought quashing under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, of the pending criminal trial for an offence under Section 498-A IPC arising from Crime No. 407/2023.

The FIR had initially included offences under Sections 377, 498-A, 294 and 506 IPC; in an earlier proceeding, the FIR had been quashed for the other offences, leaving Section 498-A IPC to proceed.

The complainant and petitioners later entered into a compromise, which the Principal Registrar verified as voluntary and free from threat, inducement or coercion.

The complainant’s counsel did not oppose quashing, while the State opposed the petition.

Whether the High Court could quash the pending prosecution under Section 498-A IPC, a non-compoundable offence, in exercise of its power under Section 528 BNSS on the basis of a compromise between the parties

Whether the verified settlement and the circumstances of the case warranted quashing the proceedings in the interests of justice

Section 528 BNSS empowers the High Court to quash proceedings to secure the ends of justice. Relying on Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, Narinder Singh v. State of Punjab, Ramavtar v. State of M.P. and other cited authorities, the Court stated that proceedings for non-compoundable offences may be quashed on settlement where the dispute is predominantly private—particularly one arising from a matrimonial or family relationship—and quashing is appropriate in the circumstances.

Under State of Madhya Pradesh v. Laxmi Narayan, this power should not ordinarily be exercised for heinous or serious offences having a substantial impact on society, or for specified offences under special statutes.

The Court also referred to Kapil Gupta v. State of NCT of Delhi for the relevance of the likelihood of conviction, the prospect of restoring harmony, and the stage of proceedings.

The Court treated the dispute as one between the parties that had been amicably settled. It relied on the Principal Registrar’s verification that the compromise was voluntary and on the complainant’s lack of objection.

Applying the principles governing compromise-based quashing, the Court considered that the settlement could restore harmony and that the likelihood of conviction was remote and bleak. It therefore concluded that continuing the prosecution risked disrupting the parties’ restored relationship and that this was a fit case to exercise its power under Section 528 BNSS.

It quashed the pending trial for the Section 498-A IPC offence and all consequential proceedings arising from it, insofar as they related to the petitioners, on the basis of the compromise. The petition was disposed of accordingly.