Kerala High Court

Arjun. S vs State Of Kerala on 13 June, 2023

         IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                         PRESENT
     THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V
 TUESDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF JUNE 2023 / 23RD JYAISHTA, 1945
                 CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023
  AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN CC 3196/2017 OF JUDICIAL
           MAGISTRATE OF FIRST CLASS ,KOTTAYAM

PETITIONER/S:

    1      ARJUN. S
           AGED 27 YEARS
           S/O SATHEESAN,
           AGED 27 YEARS
           EDAKAATTIL HOUSE, MEENACHIL P.O.,
           PALA, KOTTAYAM, PIN - 686577

    2      VARUN KRISHNAN
           AGED 27 YEARS
           S/O RAMAKRISHNAN,
           VARIYAM KUNNEL HOUSE, AYARKUNNAM P.O,
           KOTTAYAM, PIN - 686564

    3      ARUN C.S
           AGED 26 YEARS
           S/O SURENDRAN,
           HANDRABHAVAN HOUSE, KANAKKARI P.O,
           KOTTAYAM, PIN - 686633

           BY ADVS.
           K.S.PRENJITH KUMAR
           S.MANU
           BEA MARY BENNY

RESPONDENT/S:

    1      STATE OF KERALA
           REP. BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
           HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM - 682031
           (SHO, GANDHI NAGAR POLICE STATION, KOTTAYAM).

    2      ABLE M SAJI
           AGED 24 YEARS
           S/O SAJI M. ABRAHAM,
           MANIYAPARAMBIL HOUSE, VILLUNI P.O,
 CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

                             2



           KOTTAYAM, PIN - 686008, PIN - 686008

           BY ADV Girish Kumar V

           SRI VIPIN NARAYAN SR PP


     THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 13.06.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE
FOLLOWING:
 CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

                                     3



                                 ORDER

This petition is filed invoking the powers of this Court under Section

482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ("the Code") for the sake of

brevity.

2. The petitioners herein are the accused Nos. 1 to 3 in

C.C.No.3196 of 2017 on the files of the Judicial Magistrate of the First

Class-I, Ettumanoor. In the said case, they are accused of having

committed offences punishable under Sections 323, 294 (b), 324 r/w

Section 34 of the IPC.

3. The prosecution allegation, as borne out from the records,

are as under:

On 24.08.2017 at about 12 p.m., the petitioners herein, in

furtherance of their common intention, are alleged to have wrongfully

restrained the de facto complainant and attacked him with an iron rod,

causing injuries.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted

that the parties have settled their disputes and they are not desirous of

pursuing the prosecution proceedings. Reliance is placed on Annexure -

A3 affidavit filed by the 2nd respondent to substantiate his contention. CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

According to the learned counsel, if the proceedings are terminated,

recording the amicable settlement, the parties can embark upon their

future paths in an atmosphere of tranquility and mutual respect.

5. When the matter had come up for admission, this court had

directed the investigating officer concerned to record the statement of the

defacto complainant/injured/victim and report as to whether the assertion

in the petition and the affidavit filed in support that entire disputes have

been resolved between the parties concerned is true and genuine. The

investigating officer was also directed to report as to whether the

petitioners are persons with criminal antecedents and whether there is

any other impediment in terminating the criminal proceedings.

6. The learned Public Prosecutor has expressed reservations

about quashing the proceedings based solely on the settlement. He

argues that the facts and circumstances may not warrant the exercise of

the court's inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure. However, it is fairly submitted that there have been no other

crimes of serious nature registered against the petitioners to date. It is

further submitted that the statement of the party respondent has been

recorded, and he has unequivocally stated that he does not have any

lasting grievances.

CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

7. I have considered the submissions and have gone through

the records.

8. In State of M.P. v. Laxmi Narayan,1, a three-judge bench

of the Hon'ble Supreme Court has summarised the law as laid down in

Gian Singh v. State of Punjab2, Narinder Singh v. State of

Punjab3, State of Rajasthan v. Shambhu Kewat4, State of M.P. v.

Deepak5, State of M.P. v. Manish6, J. Ramesh Kamath v. Mohana

Kurup7; State of M.P. v. Rajveer Singh8, Parbatbhai Aahir v. State

of Gujarat9, State of M.P. v. Kalyan Singh10 and State of M.P. v.

Dhruv Gurjar11. It was laid down as under:

15. Considering the law on the point and the other decisions of this

Court on the point referred to hereinabove, it is observed and

held as under:

15.1. That the power conferred under Section 482 of the Code to quash the criminal proceedings for the non-compoundable offences under Section 320 of the Code can be exercised having overwhelmingly and predominantly the civil character,

[(2019) 5 SCC 688]

(2012) 10 SCC 303

2014 (6) SCC 466

(2014) 4 SCC 149

(2014) 10 SCC 285

(2015) 8 SCC 307

2016) 12 SCC 179

(2016) 12 SCC 471

(2017) 9 SCC 641

(2019) 4 SCC 268

(2019) 5 SCC 570] CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

particularly those arising out of commercial transactions or arising out of matrimonial relationship or family disputes and when the parties have resolved the entire dispute amongst themselves;

15.2. Such power is not to be exercised in those prosecutions which involved heinous and serious offences of mental depravity or offences like murder, rape, dacoity, etc. Such offences are not private in nature and have a serious impact on society;

15.3. Similarly, such power is not to be exercised for the offences under the special statutes like the Prevention of Corruption Act or the offences committed by public servants while working in that capacity are not to be quashed merely on the basis of compromise between the victim and the offender; 15.4. Offences under Section 307 IPC and the Arms Act, etc. would fall in the category of heinous and serious offences and therefore are to be treated as crime against the society and not against the individual alone, and therefore, the criminal proceedings for the offence under Section 307 IPC and/or the Arms Act, etc. which have a serious impact on the society cannot be quashed in exercise of powers under Section 482 of the Code, on the ground that the parties have resolved their entire dispute amongst themselves. However, the High Court would not rest its decision merely because there is a mention of Section 307 IPC in the FIR or the charge is framed under this provision. It would be open to the High Court to examine as to whether incorporation of Section 307 IPC is there for the sake of it or the prosecution has collected sufficient evidence, which if proved, would lead to framing the charge under Section 307 IPC. For this purpose, it would be open to the High Court to go by the nature of injury CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

sustained, whether such injury is inflicted on the vital/delicate parts of the body, nature of weapons used, etc. However, such an exercise by the High Court would be permissible only after the evidence is collected after investigation and the charge-sheet is filed/charge is framed and/or during the trial. Such exercise is not permissible when the matter is still under investigation. Therefore, the ultimate conclusion in paras 29.6 and 29.7 of the decision of this Court in Narinder Singh [Narinder Singh v. State of Punjab, (2014) 6 SCC 466 : (2014) 3 SCC (Cri) 54] should be read harmoniously and to be read as a whole and in the circumstances stated hereinabove;

15.5. While exercising the power under Section 482 of the Code to quash the criminal proceedings in respect of non-compoundable offenses, which are private in nature and do not have a serious impact on society, on the ground that there is a settlement/compromise between the victim and the offender, the High Court is required to consider the antecedents of the accused; the conduct of the accused, namely, whether the accused was absconding and why he was absconding, how he had managed with the complainant to enter into a compromise, etc.

9. Having carefully analyzed the nature of the allegations, the

gravity of the offense, the severity of injuries inflicted, the antecedents of

the petitioners, and the amicable relationship that now exists between the

parties, I am of the considered opinion that quashing the proceedings on

the basis of the settlement will not have any adverse impact on society. In CRL.MC NO. 3170 OF 2023

fact, it would only serve to bring about peace and secure the ends of

justice. Furthermore, persisting with the prosecution would be nothing but

a waste of time, as the prospects of conviction are bleak. Having

considered all of the relevant circumstances, I am of the considered view

that this Court would be well justified in invoking its extraordinary powers

under Section 482 of the Code to quash the proceedings.

Resultantly, this petition will stand allowed. Annexure-A2 Final