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TMI Blog2012 (9) TMI 1112X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing his conviction before the learned Sessions Judge. While his appeal was pending, he filed an application before the learned Sessions Judge for compounding the offence, which, according to the learned counsel, was directed to be taken up along with the main appeal. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition under Section 482, Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIR on the ground of compounding the offence. That petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been dismissed by the High Court by its impugned order. Hence, this petition has been filed in this Court. Learned counsel for the petitioner has relied on three decisions of this Court, all by two Judge Benches. They are B.S. Joshi vs. State of Haryana (2003) 4 SCC 675; Nikhil Merchant vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and Another (2008) 9 SCC 677; and Manoj Sharma vs. State and Others (2008) 16 SCC 1. In these decisions, this Court has indirectly permitted compounding of non-compoundable offences. One of us, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Markandey Katju, was a member to the last two decisions. Section 320, Cr.P.C. mentions certain offences as compoundable, certain other offences as compoundable with the permission of the Court, and the other o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under the sections of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) specified in the first two columns of the table next following may, with the permission of the Court before which any prosecution for such offence is pending, be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of that Table:-- TABLE Offence Section of the Indian Penal Code applicable Person by whom offence may be compounded 1 2 3 (3) When an offence is compoundable under this section, the abatement of such offence or an attempt to commit such offence (when such attempt is itself an offence) or where the accused is liable under section 34 or 149 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) may be compounded in like manner. (4) (a) When the person who would otherwise be competent to compound an offence under this section is under the age of eighteen years or is an idiot or a lunatic, any person competent to contract on his behalf, may, with the permission of the Court, compound such offence. (b) When the person who would otherwise be competent to compound an offence under this section is dead, the legal representative, as defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 of such person may, with the consent of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the offences under Sections 498-A and 406, IPC were non-compoundable and the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code could not be invoked to by-pass Section 320 of the Code. It is from this order that the matter reached this Court. This Court held that the High Court in exercise of its inherent powers could quash criminal proceedings or FIR or complaint and Section 320 of the Code did not limit or affect the powers under Section 482 of the Code. The Court in paragraphs 14 and 15 (Pg. 682) of the Report held as under : "14. There is no doubt that the object of introducing Chapter XX- A containing Section 498-A in the Indian Penal Code was to prevent torture to a woman by her husband or by relatives of her husband. Section 498-A was added with a view to punishing a husband and his relatives who harass or torture the wife to coerce her or her relatives to satisfy unlawful demands of dowry. The hypertechnical view would be counterproductive and would act against interests of women and against the object for which this provision was added. There is every likelihood that non-exercise of inherent power to quash the proceedings to meet the ends of justice would prevent women from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d in this case appears to have been to misrepresent the financial status of the Company, M/s Neemuch Emballage Ltd., Mumbai, in order to avail of the credit facilities to an extent to which the Company was not entitled. In other words, the main intention of the Company and its officers was to cheat the Bank and induce it to part with additional amounts of credit to which the Company was not otherwise entitled. 29. Despite the ingredients and the factual content of an offence of cheating punishable under Section 420 IPC, the same has been made compoundable under sub-section (2) of Section 320 CrPC with the leave of the court. Of course, forgery has not been included as one of the compoundable offences, but it is in such cases that the principle enunciated in B.S. Joshi case becomes relevant. 30. In the instant case, the disputes between the Company and the Bank have been set at rest on the basis of the compromise arrived at by them whereunder the dues of the Bank have been cleared and the Bank does not appear to have any further claim against the Company. What, however, remains is the fact that certain documents were alleged to have been created by the appellant herein in order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... statement of law. In any event, in this case, we are only required to consider whether the High Court had exercised its jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC legally and correctly." Then in paragraphs 8 and 9 (pg. 5) of the Report, Altamas Kabir, J., inter alia, held as under : "8. .....Once the complainant decided not to pursue the matter further, the High Court could have taken a more pragmatic view of the matter. We do not suggest that while exercising its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution the High Court could not have refused to quash the first information report, but what we do say is that the matter could have been considered by the High Court with greater pragmatism in the facts of the case. 9. ......In the facts of this case we are of the view that continuing with the criminal proceedings would be an exercise in futility........." 8. Markandey Katju, J. although concurred with the view of Altamas Kabir, J. that criminal proceedings in that case deserved to be quashed but observed that question may have to be decided in some subsequent decision or decisions (preferably by a larger Bench) as to which non-compoundable cases can be quashed under Section 482 of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tisfies the conditions mentioned therein. Learned senior counsel would submit that the power to quash the criminal proceedings under Section 482 of the Code exists even in non-compoundable offence but its actual exercise will depend on facts of a particular case. He submitted that some or all of the following tests may be relevant to decide whether to quash or not to quash the criminal proceedings in a given case; (a) the nature and gravity of case; (b) does the dispute reflect overwhelming and pre-dominantly civil flavour; (c) would the quashing involve settlement of entire or almost the entire dispute; (d) the compromise/settlement between parties and/or other facts and the circumstances render possibility of conviction remote and bleak; (e) not to quash would cause extreme injustice and would not serve ends of justice and (f) not to quash would result in abuse of process of court. 10. Shri P.P. Rao, learned senior counsel for the petitioner in Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 5921 of 2009 submitted that Section 482 of the Code is complete answer to the reference made to the larger Bench. He analysed Section 482 and Section 320 of the Code and submitted that Section 320 did no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sh the proceedings once the aggrieved party has compromised the matter with the wrong doer. It was submitted that if the court did not allow the quashing of FIR or complaint or criminal case where the parties settled their dispute amicably, it would encourage the parties to speak lie in the court and witnesses would become hostile and the criminal proceeding would not end in conviction. Learned counsel submitted that the court could also consider the two questions (1) can there be partial quashing of the FIR qua accused with whom the complainant/aggrieved party enters into compromise. (2) can the court quash the proceedings in the cases which have not arisen from the matrimonial or civil disputes but the offences are personal in nature like grievous hurt (S.326), attempt to murder (S.307), rape (S.376), trespassing (S.452) and kidnapping (S.364, 365) etc. 14. Mr. P. P. Malhotra, learned Additional Solicitor General referred to the scheme of the Code. He submitted that in any criminal case investigated by police on filing the report under Section 173 of the Code, the Magistrate, after applying his mind to the chargesheet and the documents accompanying the same, if takes cognizance ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Nikhil Merchant2, learned Additional Solicitor General submitted that this Court in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Rameshwar and others[(2009) 11 SCC 424] held that the said decision was a decision under Article 142 of the Constitution. With regard to Manoj Sharma3, learned Additional Solicitor General referred to the observations made by Markandey Katju, J. in paragraphs 24 and 28 of the Report. 17. Learned Additional Solicitor General submitted that the High Court has no power to quash criminal proceedings in regard to offences in which a cognizance has been taken by the Magistrate merely because there has been settlement between the victim and the offender because the criminal offence is against the society. 18. More than 65 years back, in Emperor v. Khwaja Nazir Ahmed[(1945) 47 Bom. L.R. 245], it was observed by the Privy Council that Section 561A (corresponding to Section 482 of the Code) had not given increased powers to the Court which it did not possess before that section was enacted. It was observed, `The section gives no new powers, it only provides that those which the court already inherently possess shall be preserved and is inserted lest, as their Lordships think, i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hed. The saving of the High Court's inherent powers, both in civil and criminal matters, is designed to achieve a salutary public purpose which is that a court proceeding ought not to be permitted to degenerate into a weapon of harassment or persecution. In a criminal case, the veiled object behind a lame prosecution, the very nature of the material on which the structure of the prosecution rests and the like would justify the High Court in quashing the proceeding in the interest of justice. The ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law though justice has got to be administered according to laws made by the legislature. The compelling necessity for making these observations is that without a proper realisation of the object and purpose of the provision which seeks to save the inherent powers of the High Court to do justice between the State and its subjects, it would be impossible to appreciate the width and contours of that salient jurisdiction." 23. The Court then observed that the considerations justifying the exercise of inherent powers for securing the ends of justice naturally vary from case to case and a jurisdiction as wholesome as the one conferred by Sect ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e being no other provision in the Code for the redress of the grievance of the aggrieved party. But then, if the order assailed is purely of an interlocutory character which could be corrected in exercise of the revisional power of the High Court under the 1898 Code, the High Court will refuse to exercise its inherent power. But in case the impugned order clearly brings about a situation which is an abuse of the process of the Court or for the purpose of securing the ends of justice interference by the High Court is absolutely necessary, then nothing contained in Section 397(2) can limit or affect the exercise of the inherent power by the High Court. But such cases would be few and far between. The High Court must exercise the inherent power very sparingly. One such case would be the desirability of the quashing of a criminal proceeding initiated illegally, vexatiously or as being without jurisdiction". In short, there is no total ban on the exercise of inherent power where abuse of the process of the court or other extraordinary situation excites the court's jurisdiction. The limitation is self-restraint, nothing more. The policy of the law is clear that interlocutory orders ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ection 362 of the Code and the High Court was in error in having quashed the proceedings by adopting that course. While accepting this argument, this Court held as follows : "3. ......The inherent power under Section 482 is intended to prevent the abuse of the process of the court and to secure ends of justice. Such power cannot be exercised to do something which is expressly barred under the Code. If any consideration of the facts by way of review is not permissible under the Code and is expressly barred, it is not for the court to exercise its inherent power to reconsider the matter and record a conflicting decision. If there had been change in the circumstances of the case, it would be in order for the High Court to exercise its inherent powers in the prevailing circumstances and pass appropriate orders to secure the ends of justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of the court. Where there is no such changed circumstances and the decision has to be arrived at on the facts that existed as on the date of the earlier order, the exercise of the power to reconsider the same materials to arrive at different conclusion is in effect a review, which is expressly barred under Sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the High Court and the alleged abuse of the process of law or the ends of justice could only be secured in accordance with law including procedural law and not otherwise. Further, inherent powers are in the nature of extraordinary powers to be used sparingly for achieving the object mentioned in Section 482 of the Code in cases where there is no express provision empowering the High Court to achieve the said object. It is well-neigh settled that inherent power is not to be invoked in respect of any matter covered by specific provisions of the Code or if its exercise would infringe any specific provision of the Code. In the present case, the High Court overlooked the procedural law which empowered the convicted accused to prefer statutory appeal against conviction of the offence. The High Court has intervened at an uncalled for stage and soft-pedalled the course of justice at a very crucial stage of the trial." 29. In G. Sagar Suri and another v. State of U.P. and others [(2000) 2 SCC 636], the Court was concerned with the order of the High Court whereby the application under Section 482 of the Code for quashing the criminal proceedings under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aliquid alicui concedit, concedere videtur et id sine quo res ipsae esse non potest (when the law gives a person anything it gives him that without which it cannot exist). While exercising powers under the section, the court does not function as a court of appeal or revision. Inherent jurisdiction under the section though wide has to be exercised sparingly, carefully and with caution and only when such exercise is justified by the tests specifically laid down in the section itself. It is to be exercised ex debito justitiae to do real and substantial justice for the administration of which alone courts exist. Authority of the court exists for advancement of justice and if any attempt is made to abuse that authority so as to produce injustice, the court has power to prevent abuse. It would be an abuse of process of the court to allow any action which would result in injustice and prevent promotion of justice. In exercise of the powers court would be justified to quash any proceeding if it finds that initiation/continuance of it amounts to abuse of the process of court or quashing of these proceedings would otherwise serve the ends of justice........" The Court in paragraph 9 (Pg. 96 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... glish courts have also used inherent power to achieve the same objective. 39. Careful analysis of all these judgments clearly reveals that the exercise of inherent powers would entirely depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. The object of incorporating inherent powers in the Code is to prevent abuse of the process of the court or to secure ends of justice." 32 In Devendra and others v. State of Uttar Pradesh and another[(2009) 7 SCC 495, while dealing with the question whether a pure civil dispute can be subject matter of a criminal proceeding under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 469 IPC, a two-Judge Bench of this Court observed that the High Court ordinarily would exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code if the allegations made in the First Information Report, even if given face value and taken to be correct in their entirety, do not make out any offence. 33. In Sushil Suri v. Central Bureau of Investigation and another[(2011) 5 SCC 708], the Court considered the scope and ambit of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court and made the following observations in para 16 (pg. 715) of the Report: "16. Section 482 CrPC itself envisages three circumstan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e, therefore, of the opinion that no useful purpose would be served in continuing with the proceedings in the light of the compromise and also in the light of the fact that the complainant has on 11-1-2004 passed away and the possibility of a conviction being recorded has thus to be ruled out. 6. We need to emphasise that it is perhaps advisable that in disputes where the question involved is of a purely personal nature, the court should ordinarily accept the terms of the compromise even in criminal proceedings as keeping the matter alive with no possibility of a result in favour of the prosecution is a luxury which the courts, grossly overburdened as they are, cannot afford and that the time so saved can be utilised in deciding more effective and meaningful litigation. This is a common sense approach to the matter based on ground of realities and bereft of the technicalities of the law." 36. In Ishwar Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh[(2008) 15 SCC 667], the Court was concerned with a case where the accused - appellant was convicted and sentenced by the Additional Sessions Judge for an offence punishable under Section 307, IPC. The High Court dismissed the appeal from the judgm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n one and the same village and they are also relatives. The appellant was about 20 years of age at the time of commission of crime. It was his first offence. After conviction, the petitioner was taken into custody. During the pendency of appeal before the High Court, he was enlarged on bail but, after the decision of the High Court, he again surrendered and is in jail at present. Though he had applied for bail, the prayer was not granted and he was not released on bail. Considering the totality of facts and circumstances, in our opinion, the ends of justice would be met if the sentence of imprisonment awarded to the appellant (Accused 1) is reduced to the period already undergone." 38. In Rumi Dhar (Smt.) v. State of West Bengal and another[(2009) 6 SCC 364] , the Court was concerned with applicability of Section 320 of the Code where the accused was being prosecuted for commission of offences under Sections 120-B/420/467/468/471 of the IPC along with the bank officers who were being prosecuted under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The accused had paid the entire due amount as per the settlement with the bank in the matter of recove ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eedings on the basis of a compromise arrived at between the complainant and the appellants. This Court considered earlier decisions of this Court, the provisions contained in Sections 320 and 394 of the Code and in paragraphs 17, 18 and 19 (pgs. 712 and 713) of the Report held as under: "17. It is manifest that simply because an offence is not compoundable under Section 320 CrPC is by itself no reason for the High Court to refuse exercise of its power under Section 482 CrPC. That power can in our opinion be exercised in cases where there is no chance of recording a conviction against the accused and the entire exercise of a trial is destined to be an exercise in futility. There is a subtle distinction between compounding of offences by the parties before the trial court or in appeal on the one hand and the exercise of power by the High Court to quash the prosecution under Section 482 CrPC on the other. While a court trying an accused or hearing an appeal against conviction, may not be competent to permit compounding of an offence based on a settlement arrived at between the parties in cases where the offences are not compoundable under Section 320, the High Court may quash the pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cess of law and thereby preventing a wasteful exercise by the courts below". 40. In Ashok Sadarangani and Anr. vs. Union of India and others[JT 2012 (3) SC 469], the issue under consideration was whether an offence which was not compoundable under the provisions of the Code could be quashed. That was a case where a criminal case was registered against the accused persons under Sections 120-B, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of IPC. The allegation was that accused secured the credit facilities by submitting forged property documents as collaterals and utilized such facilities in a dishonest and fraudulent manner by opening Letters of Credit in respect of foreign supplies of goods, without actually bringing any goods but inducing the Bank to negotiate the Letters of Credit in favour of foreign suppliers and also by misusing the cash credit facility. The Court considered the earlier decisions of this Court including B.S. Joshi1, Nikhil Merchant2, Manoj Sharma3, Shiji alias Pappu33, Duncans Agro Industries Limited29, Rumi Dhar (Smt.)28 and Sushil Suri21 and also referred to the order of reference in one of the cases before us. In paragraphs 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Report it was held as under: ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ty of continuing with the criminal proceedings, this Court ultimately quashed the same. 18. In addition to the above, even with regard to the decision of this Court in Central Bureau of Investigation v. Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ors. : [(2009) 6 SCC 351], this Court observed that the High Court can exercise power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to do real and substantial justice and to prevent abuse of the process of Court when exceptional circumstances warranted the exercise of such power. Once the circumstances in a given case were held to be such as to attract the provisions of Article 142 or Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution, it would be open to the Supreme Court to exercise its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash the proceedings, the continuance whereof would only amount to abuse of the process of Court. In the instant case the dispute between the petitioners and the Banks having been compromised, we have to examine whether the continuance of the criminal proceeding could turn out to be an exercise in futility without anything positive being ultimately achieved. 19. As was indicated in Harbhajan Singh's case (supra), the pendency of a refe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... FIR alleging offences punishable under Sections 467, 468, 471, 420 and 120-B IPC. The High Court refused to quash the criminal case under Section 482 of the Code. The question for consideration was that inasmuch as all those offences, except Section 420 IPC, were non-compoundable offences under Section 320 of the Code, whether it would be possible to quash the FIR by the High Court under Section 482 of the Code or by this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The Bench elaborately considered the decision of this Court in Shiji alias Pappu33 and by invoking Article 142 of the Constitution quashed the criminal proceedings. It was held as under:- "10. In the light of the principles mentioned above, inasmuch as Respondent No. 2 - the Complainant has filed an affidavit highlighting the stand taken by the Appellant (Accused No. 3) during the pendency of the appeal before this Court and the terms of settlement as stated in the said affidavit, by applying the same analogy and in order to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution, we accept the terms of settlement insofar as the Appellant herein (Accused No. 3) is concerned. 11. In view of the same, we qu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , IPC may be permitted to be compounded on the basis of legitimate settlement between the parties. Yet another offence which remains non- compoundable is Section 506 (II), IPC, which is punishable with 7 years imprisonment. It is the judicial experience that an offence under Section 506 IPC in most cases is based on the oral declaration with different shades of intention. Another set of offences, which ought to be liberally compounded, are Sections 147 and 148, IPC, more particularly where other offences are compoundable. It may be added here that the State of Madhya Pradesh vide M.P. Act No. 17 of 1999 (Section 3) has made Sections 506(II) IPC, 147 IPC and 148, IPC compoundable offences by amending the schedule under Section 320, Cr.P.C. e. The offences against human body other than murder and culpable homicide where the victim dies in the course of transaction would fall in the category where compounding may not be permitted. Heinous offences like highway robbery, dacoity or a case involving clear-cut allegations of rape should also fall in the prohibited category. Offences committed by Public Servants purporting to act in that capacity as also offences against public servant w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e instrument to maintain and control social order. The Courts play role of paramount importance in achieving peace, harmony and ever-lasting congeniality in society. Resolution of a dispute by way of a compromise between two warring groups, therefore, should attract the immediate and prompt attention of a Court which should endeavour to give full effect to the same unless such compromise is abhorrent to lawful composition of the society or would promote savagery." 46. A three-Judge Bench of the Bombay High Court in Abasaheb Yadav Honmane v. State of Maharashtra[2008 (2) Mh.L.J.856] dealt with the inherent power of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code vis-à-vis the express bar for compounding of the non-compoundable offences in Section 320(9) of the Code. The High Court referred to various decisions of this Court and also the decisions of the various High Courts and then stated as follows : "The power of compounding on one hand and quashing of criminal proceedings in exercise of inherent powers on the other, are incapable of being treated as synonymous or even inter- changeable in law. The conditions precedent and satisfaction of criteria in each of these cases ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 48. The question is with regard to the inherent power of the High Court in quashing the criminal proceedings against an offender who has settled his dispute with the victim of the crime but the crime in which he is allegedly involved is not compoundable under Section 320 of the Code. 49. Section 482 of the Code, as its very language suggests, saves the inherent power of the High Court which it has by virtue of it being a superior court to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. It begins with the words, 'nothing in this Code' which means that the provision is an overriding provision. These words leave no manner of doubt that none of the provisions of the Code limits or restricts the inherent power. The guideline for exercise of such power is provided in Section 482 itself i.e., to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. As has been repeatedly stated that Section 482 confers no new powers on High Court; it merely safeguards existing inherent powers possessed by High Court necessary to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or to secure the ends of justice. It is equally well settled tha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... circumscribed by the provisions contained in Section 320 and the court is guided solely and squarely thereby while, on the other hand, the formation of opinion by the High Court for quashing a criminal offence or criminal proceeding or criminal complaint is guided by the material on record as to whether the ends of justice would justify such exercise of power although the ultimate consequence may be acquittal or dismissal of indictment. 54. Where High Court quashes a criminal proceeding having regard to the fact that dispute between the offender and victim has been settled although offences are not compoundable, it does so as in its opinion, continuation of criminal proceedings will be an exercise in futility and justice in the case demands that the dispute between the parties is put to an end and peace is restored; securing the ends of justice being the ultimate guiding factor. No doubt, crimes are acts which have harmful effect on the public and consist in wrong doing that seriously endangers and threatens well-being of society and it is not safe to leave the crime- doer only because he and the victim have settled the dispute amicably or that the victim has been paid compensat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rampal15, Arun Shankar Shukla16, Ishwar Singh23, Rumi Dhar (Smt.).28 and Ashok Sadarangani34. The principle propounded in Simrikhia14 that the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court cannot be invoked to override express bar provided in law is by now well settled. In Dharampal15, the Court observed the same thing that the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code cannot be utilized for exercising powers which are expressly barred by the Code. Similar statement of law is made in Arun Shankar Shukla16. In Ishwar Singh23, the accused was alleged to have committed an offence punishable under Section 307, IPC and with reference to Section 320 of the Code, it was held that the offence punishable under Section 307 IPC was not compoundable offence and there was express bar in Section 320 that no offence shall be compounded if it is not compoundable under the Code. In Rumi Dhar (Smt.)28 although the accused had paid the entire due amount as per the settlement with the bank in the matter of recovery before the Debts Recovery Tribunal, the accused was being proceeded with for commission of offences under Section 120-B/420/467/468/471 of the IPC along with the bank officers who were being ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erious offences of mental depravity or offences like murder, rape, dacoity, etc. cannot be fittingly quashed even though the victim or victim's family and the offender have settled the dispute. Such offences are not private in nature and have serious impact on society. Similarly, any compromise between the victim and offender in relation to the offences under special statutes like Prevention of Corruption Act or the offences committed by public servants while working in that capacity etc; cannot provide for any basis for quashing criminal proceedings involving such offences. But the criminal cases having overwhelmingly and pre-dominatingly civil flavour stand on different footing for the purposes of quashing, particularly the offences arising from commercial, financial, mercantile, civil, partnership or such like transactions or the offences arising out of matrimony relating to dowry, etc. or the family disputes where the wrong is basically private or personal in nature and the parties have resolved their entire dispute. In this category of cases, High Court may quash criminal proceedings if in its view, because of the compromise between the offender and victim, the possibility of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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