Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati
Unknown vs The Honourable Sri Justice K. ... on 24 March, 2022
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. SREENIVASA
REDDY
I.A.N0s.1 of 2021 & 2 of 2021 in Crl.A.No.1266 of 2017
and
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1266 OF 2017
COMMON JUDGMENT :-
The Criminal Appeal is filed aggrieved by the
convictions and sentences recorded in the judgment dated
23.10.2017 in Sessions Case No.93 of 2013 on the file of
the Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Visakhapatnam,
whereby the learned Sessions Judge found the
appellant/accused guilty of the offences punishable under
Sections 354, 353, 506 and 509 I.P.C., accordingly
convicted him of the said offences and sentenced to
undergo -rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years
and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- in default to suffer simple
imprisonment for a period of one year, for the offence
punishable under Section 354 I.P.C.; rigorous
imprisonment for a period of two years and to pay a fine of
Rs.5,000/- in default to suffer simple imprisonment for a
period of six months, for the offence punishable under
Section 353 I.P.C.; simple imprisonment for a period of one
year and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- in default to suffer
simple imprisonment for a period of three months, for the
offence punishable under Section 506 I.P.C., and simple
imprisonment for a period of six months and to pay a fine
2
of Rs.500/- in default to suffer simple imprisonment for a
period of one month, for the offence punishable under
Section 509 I.P.C. All the substantive sentences were
ordered to run concurrently and the default sentences were
ordered to run consecutively.
2. The defacto complainant got herself impleaded
as 2nd respondent in the Criminal Appeal, vide order dated
08.10.2020 in I.A. No.2 of 2020.
3. Pending the Criminal Appeal, 2nd respondent in
the appeal/defacto complainant filed I.A.No.1 of 2021
seeking to permit her to compromise the proceedings as
against the 1st respondent/appellant/ accused. She filed
I.A. No.2 of 2021 praying to compromise and consequently
quash the proceedings as against 1st respondent/
appellant/accused, stating that she has no objection to
allow the Criminal Appeal by acquitting the appellant
herein, in view of the Joint Memo signed by the parties,
filed along with the petition.
4. This Court, vide common judgment dated
20.03.2021 in I.A. No.1 of 2021 in / and Criminal Appeal
No.1266 of 2017, disposed of the Criminal Appeal,
confirming the conviction recorded by the trial Court
against the appellant and modifying the sentence imposed
upon him by directing that he shall undergo sentence of
imprisonment for the period already undergone on all
counts and ordering the sentences to run concurrently.
Aggrieved by the same, the appellant herein preferred
Criminal Appeal No.1458 of 2021 before the Hon'ble
Supreme Court of India, and vide order dated 15.11.2021,
the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India allowed the appeal,
setting aside the aforesaid common judgment dated
20.03.2021 passed by this Court and restoring the
Criminal Appeal and I.A. No.1 of 2021 to the file of this
Court for reconsideration keeping in view the observations
made in the judgment dated 29.09.2021 in Ramgopal v
State of Madhya Pradesh in Criminal Appeal No.1489 of
2012, and leaving it open to the parties to file additional
affidavits for consideration of this Court.
5. Heard the learned counsel for the appellant, the
learned Additional Public Prosecutor for 1st respondent in
Criminal Appeal/State and the learned counsel for 2nd
respondent in Criminal Appeal/defacto complainant.
6. It is stated in the joint memo signed by both the
parties filed along with I.A.No.2 of 2021 that at the
intervention of elders, both the appellant and the 2nd
respondent/defacto complainant settled their dispute
amicably and they are living in peace and harmony. It is
further stated in view of the age and health condition of the
appellant, 2nd respondent/defacto complainant has no
objection, if the case is allowed. It is stated by the learned
counsel that due to inadvertence, the fact that the
appellant is a government employee was not brought to the
notice of this Court earlier.
7. In Ramgopal & another v. State of Karnataka
(supra), it is held thus:
"We thus sum−up and hold that as opposed to
Section 320 Cr.P.C. where the Court is squarely
guided by the compromise between the parties in
respect of offences compoundable within the statutory
framework, the extra−ordinary power enjoined upon a
High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. or vested in
this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, can
be invoked beyond the metes and bounds of Section
320 Cr.P.C. Nonetheless, we reiterate that such
powers of wide amplitude ought to be exercised
carefully in the context of quashing criminal
proceedings, bearing in mind: (i) Nature and effect of
the offence on the conscious of the society; (ii)
Seriousness of the injury, if any; (iii) Voluntary nature
of compromise between the accused and the victim; &
(iv) Conduct of the accused persons, prior to and after
the occurrence of the purported offence and/or other
relevant considerations.
8. After perusal of the material placed on record
and on coming to the conclusion the compromise recorded
by this court and in view of the fact that the appellant is a
government employee, this Court feels that by relying upon
the principle laid down in Ramgopal & another v. State of
Karnataka (supra), once the parties compromised, the
entire proceedings would get vitiated.
9. For the reasons stated above read with the
settlement arrived at, between the parties, this Court feels
it appropriate to quash the proceedings in Criminal Appeal
No.1266 of 2017 and all the offences emanating out of the
F.I.R. leading to the Criminal Appeal shall stand annulled
and the judgments and orders passed by the trial Court are
set side, resultantly, the appellant shall be deemed to have
been acquitted of the charged offences for all intents and
purposes.
10. With the above observations, the Criminal
Appeal and the I.As. shall stand allowed.
Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this
Criminal Petition, shall stand closed.
___________________________________
JUSTICE K. SREENIVASA REDDY
24.03.2022.
SSP/DRK
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. SREENIVASA
REDDY
COMMON ORDER
IN
I.A.N0s.1 of 2021 & 2 of 2021 in Crl.A.No.1266 of 2017
and
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1266 OF 2017
24.03.2022
SSP/DRK
