High Court of KeralaSingle JudgeQuashed the criminal proceedings; quashment of ...

Dr. Kiran and Others v. State of Kerala and Dr. Arya S. K.

Case / Petition Number:CRL.MC NO.997 OF 2025
Neutral Citation:2025:KER:21509

Case Details & Bench

Court
High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges
  • C. Jayachandran
Judgment Date
2025-03-11
Court Decision / Holding
Crl.MC No. 997 of 2025 allowed. Annexure-2 Final Report, and all further proceedings in CC No.5/2025 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-VII, Neyyatinkara, are hereby quashed.
Final Disposition
Quashed the criminal proceedings; quashment of CC No.5/2025 and final report

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

  • Dr. Kiran, S/o Rajayyan
  • Rajayyan, F/o Kiran Venganoor
  • Sherly Paul, W/o Rajayyan Venganoor
  • Deepthi S. Raj, D/o Rajayyan Venganoor

Respondents

  • State of Kerala, represented by Public Prosecutor, High Court of Kerala, Ernakulam
  • Dr. Arya S.K.

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

  • • R. Sunil Kumar
  • • A. Salini Lal
  • • Jinu P. Binu
  • • J. M. Deepak
  • • Sajeev K.

Counsels for Respondents

  • • Thulasi Amma S.
  • • Sri. C.N. Prabhakaran (Sr. PP)

Case Synopsis & Summary

The Kerala High Court, Ernakulam, while hearing Crl.MC No. 997 of 2025, entertained a petition by Petitioners/Accused Nos. 1 to 4 seeking quashment of proceedings in CC No.5/2025 (Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-VII, Neyyattinkara) arising from Vizhinjam Police Station Crime No.1596/24. The alleged offences are under Section 85 of the BNS and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The petition was grounded on a settlement between the parties, supported by an affidavit of the De-Facto Complainant (respondent no.2) stating that the disputes are amicably resolved and that she does not intend to prosecute; an Annexure-3 settlement agreement with the 1st petitioner and Annexure-4 affidavit are also on record. The Court directed recording of the de facto complainant’s statement, found the settlement to be genuine and bonafide, and noted the respondent’s endorsement of the quashment. Relying on Kulwinder Singh guidelines (framed for quashing under Section 482 Cr.P.C. in cases not compoundable) and their subsequent approval in Gian Singh, Narinder Singh, and Madan Mohan Abbot, the Court held that where disputes are purely personal and settled voluntarily, quashing can be ordered to prevent abuse of process and to secure ends of justice. The Court ultimately allowed the Crl.M.C and quashed Annexure-2 Final Report and all further proceedings in CC No.5/2025. Annexures include FIR, Final Report, Settlement Agreement, and De facto complainant’s affidavit.

Provisions of Law Cited

Section 482 CrPCSection 320 CrPCSection 85 of BNSSection 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act

Legal Doctrines & Maxims

  • Ends of justice
  • Abuse of process of court
  • Inherent power of CrPC under Section 482 to quash
  • Settlement/compromise in criminal proceedings
  • Common-sense approach to settlement (Madan Mohan Abbot)
  • Kulwinder Singh guidelines (sanctioning quashing on settlement)
  • Gian Singh (approval of guidelines)
  • Narinder Singh (parameters for quashing)

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioners argued for quashment of the entire proceedings on the strength of a genuine settlement between the parties. They relied on established authorities (Kulwinder Singh; Gian Singh; Narinder Singh; Madan Mohan Abbot) to contend that the ends of justice require quashing where the settlement is voluntary and fair, especially when continuation would be a futile exercise and would amount to abuse of process.

Contentions of Respondents

The de facto complainant (respondent no.2) supported quashment based on the amicable settlement; an affidavit and settlement agreement were produced to show the disputes were settled; the State counsel joined in noting that further prosecution would be unwarranted given the settlement and the defacto complainant’s disinterest in continuing.

Cited Precedents (4)

Case NameCitationTreatmentExplanation
Kulwinder Singh and Others v. State of Punjab and Another[(2007) 4 CTC 769]PositiveGrounds for quashing under Section 482 CrPC based on settlement, cited as a controlling precedent and later approved by higher courts.
Gian Singh v State of Punjab and another[(2012) 10 SCC 303]PositiveSupreme Court approval of Kulwinder Singh guidelines; used to support quashing in light of settlement.
Narinder Singh and Others v State of Punjab[(2014) 6 SCC 466]PositiveParameters for invoking inherent power under 482 CrPC to quash in settled matters.
Madan Mohan Abbot v. State of Punjab[(2008) 4 SCC 582]PositiveAdvocates a common sense approach and acceptance of compromise in personal-dispute criminal proceedings.

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Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** # **`IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM`** ## **`PRESENT`** ``` THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C. JAYACHANDRAN ``` ``` TUESDAY, THE 11[TH] DAY OF MARCH 2025 / 20TH PHALGUNA, 1946 ``` ``` CRL.MC NO. 997 OF 2025 ``` ``` CRIME NO.1596/2024 OF Vizhinjam Police Station, ``` ## **`Thiruvananthapuram`** ``` AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT DATED IN CC NO.5 OF ``` ``` 2025 OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF FIRST CLASS COURT - VII,NEYYATTINKARA ``` ## **`PETITIONERS/ACCUSED NO.1 TO 4:`** - **`1 DR.KIRAN , S/O RAJAYYAN, DEEPTHI NIVAS, NELLIVILA, VENNIYOOR, VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM CITY,, PIN - 695523`** - **`2 RAJAYYAN, F/O KIRAN VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM CITY, KERALA, PIN - 695523`** - **`3 SHERLY PAUL , W/O RAJAYYAN VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM CITY, KERALA, PIN - 695523`** - **`4 DEEPTHI.S.RAJ , D/O RAJAYYAN VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM CITY, KERALA, PIN – 695523`** ``` BY ADVS. R.SUNIL KUMAR A.SALINI LAL JINU P. BINU J.M.DEEPAK SAJEEV K. ``` ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 :2: ## **`RESPONDENTS/STATE & DE-FACTO COMPLAINANT:`** - **`1 STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031`** - **`2 DR.ARYA.S.K , AGED 29 YEARS`** - **`D/O SAM, CHAITHRAM, DEN'S LANE, NEAR DENNISON MEMMORIAL CSI CHURCH, MULLUVILA, THIRUPURAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM CITY, PIN - 695001`** ## **`BY ADV THULASI AMMA S.`** ## **`SRI. C.N. PRABHAKARAN (SR.PP)`** ``` THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 11.03.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: ``` ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** :3: ## **C.JAYACHANDRAN, J.** ------------------------------------ **Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025** -----------------------------------Dated this the 11[th] day of March, 2025 ## **O R D E R** ``` A five Judges Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Kulwinder Singh and Others v. State of Punjab and Another[(2007) 4 CTC 769], framed broad guidelines as regards quashment of the criminal proceedings under Section 482 of the Code in respect of offences which are not compoundable in terms of Section 320 of the Code. One among the guidelines was that the offences against human body, other than murder and culpable homicide, may be permitted to be compounded, when the court is in a position to record a finding that the settlement between the parties is voluntary and fair. These guidelines were quoted with approval by a three Judges Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Gian ``` **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [13 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** ``` Singh v. State of Punjab and another [(2012) 10 SCC 303]. Similarly inNarinder Singh and Others v. State of Punjab [(2014) 6 SCC 466], the Hon'ble Supreme Court has gone to the extent of sanctioning invocation of the inherent power under section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to quash the F.I.R in a crime alleging offence under Section 307, which is a henious and serious offence. A practical approach is seen adopted by the Hon'ble Supreme inMadan Mohan Abbot v. State of Punjab [(2008) 4 SCC 582] as regards quashment in respect of offences like 379, 406, 409, 418, etc., the relevant findings of which are extracted herebelow: ``` ``` “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 ``` ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** **==> picture [13 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** ``` 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 ofrealitiesandbereftofthe technicalities of the law.” ``` ``` 2.In the facts at hand, petitioners are accused nos.1 to 4 in Crime No.1596 of 2024 of Vizhinjam Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram, now pending as C.C.No.5/2025 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-VII, Neyyattinkara. The offences alleged are under Section 85 of BNS and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act. The petitioners seek quashment of entire proceedings in the above Calendar Case, on the strength of the settlement arrived at by and between the parties. ``` ``` 3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners, learnedcounselforthedefacto complainant/respondent no.2 and the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the records. ``` ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [13 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** ``` 4. When this Crl.M.C was moved, this Court directed to record the statement of the defacto complainant. The said direction was complied and the statement was handed over. On perusal of the same, it is clear that the issues between the petitioners and the defacto complainant are settled and that the defacto complainant is disinterested to continue with the criminal proceedings against the petitioners. That apart, it is noticed that, along with this Crl.M.C, an affidavit has been sworn to by the defacto complainant (2[nd] respondent herein) as Annexure-4, wherein she would unequivocally state that the disputes have been amicably settled. The defacto complainant would also swear that she does not intend to proceed with the prosecution case against the petitioners and that the affidavit is sworn to on her own volition. This Court has also perused Annexure-3 settlement agreement executed by the 1[st] petitioner and the defacto complainant, wherein the ``` **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [13 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** ``` factum of settlement is affirmed. This Court is therefore convinced that the settlement arrived at is genuine and bonafide. Learned counsel for the defacto complainant would also endorse that the quashment sought for can be allowed. ``` ``` 5. In the light of the above referred facts, this Court is of the opinion that the necessary parameters, as culled out in Narinder Singh (supra), Madan Mohan Abbot (supra) and Gian Singh (Supra), are fully satisfied. This court is convinced that further proceedings against the petitioners will be a futile exercise, inasmuch as the disputes have already been settled. There is little possibility of any conviction in the crime. Dehors the settlement arrived at by and between the parties, if they are compelled to face the criminal proceedings, the same, in the estimation of this Court, will amount to abuse of process of Court. The quashment sought for would secure the ends of justice. ``` **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [13 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** ``` In the circumstances, this Crl.M.C. is allowed. Annexure-2 Final Report, and all further proceedings in C.C.No.5/2025 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-VII, Neyyatinkara, are hereby quashed. ``` sd/- ## **C. JAYACHANDRAN, JUDGE.** Raj. ``` 2025:KER:21509 ``` Crl.MC.No.997 of 2025 **==> picture [57 x 57] intentionally omitted <==** :9: ## **`APPENDIX OF CRL.MC 997/2025`** ## **`PETITIONER ANNEXURES`** ``` Annexure 1CERTIFIED COPY OF FIR IN CRIME NO 1596/24 OF VIZHINJAM POLICE STATION ``` ``` Annexure 2CERTIFIED COPY OF THE FINAL REPORT IN CRIME NO 1596/24 OF VIZHINJAM POLICE STATION ``` ``` Annexure 3TRUE COPY OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ARRIVED BETWEEN THE PARTIES IN OP 1446/24 ON THE FILES OF FAMILY COURT NEYYATTINKARA ``` ``` Annexure 4THE AFFIDAVIT OF 2ND RESPONDENT DATED 6/1/2025 ```