NIDHIN, RAMACHANDRAN PILLAI and VASANTHAKUMARI v. PARVATHY R.S and STATE OF KERALA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS WEDNESDAY, THE 5TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2014/14TH KARTHIKA, 1936 Crl.MC.No.6197 of 2014 () --------------------------CC 1878/2014 of J.M.F.C., KAYAMKULAM CRIME NO.345/2014 OF VALLIKUNNAM POLICE STATION, ALAPPUZHA ## PETITIONERS/ACCUSED: --------------------------- ## 1. NIDHIN, AGED 27 YEARS, S/O RAMACHANDRAN PILLAI, MARUTHAVANA ATHIRA VEEDU PALLICKALKATTANAM, KAYAMKULAM, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT. ## 2. RAMACHANDRAN PILLAI, AGED 60 YEARS S/O. SANKARA KURUP, MARUTHAVANA ATHIRA VEEDU PALLICKAL, KATTANAM, KAYAMKULAM, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT. ## 3. VASANTHAKUMARI. Y, AGED 53 YEARS W/O RAMACHANDRAN PILLAI, MARUTHAVANA ATHIRA VEEDU PALLICKAL, KATTANAM, KAYAMKULAM, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT. BY ADVS.SRI.V.MADHUSUDHANAN SRI.S.SANKARAN THAMPI SRI.S.MAHESWARAN THAMPY SRI.T.ISSAC ## RESPONDENTS/COMPLAINANT & STATE: --------------------------------------------- ## 1. PARVATHY R.S, AGED 26 YEARS D/O C.RADHAKRISHNA PILLAI, VYSHAKH, KOONAYIL PARAVUR VILLAGE, KOLLAM DISTRICT, PIN:691 301. ## 2. STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM-682031. R1 BY ADV. SRI.P.VIJAYARAGHAVAN ((PALAYIL) R2 BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.R.GITHESH THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 5-112014, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: Crl.MC.No. 6197 of 2014 () --------------------------- ## APPENDIX PETITIONER(S)' EXHIBITS: ----------------------------- ANNEXURE A1: TRUE COPY OF RELEVANT PAGES OF THE F.I.R IN CRIME NO.345 OF 2014 OF VALLIKUNNAM POLICE STATION, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT. ANNEXURE A2: TRUE COPY OF THE FINAL REPORT IN CRIME NO.345 OF 2014 OF VALLIKUNNAM POLICE STATION, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT. ANNEXURE A3: A TRUE COPY OF THE AFFIDAVIT SWORN TO BY THE IST RESPONDENT ENDORSING THE FACTUM OF SETTLEMENT. RESPONDENT(S)' EXHIBITS: NIL -------------------------------- // TRUE COPY // P.A TO JUDGE. ## **ALEXANDER THOMAS, J. ----------------------------Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014 --------------------------------Dated this the 5[th] day of November, 2014.** ## **O R D E R** The prayer in the above captioned Criminal Miscellaneous Case (Crl.M.C) is to quash the impugned Annexure-A2 Final Report/Charge Sheet filed in Crime No.345/2014 of Vallikkunnam Police Station which has led to the pendency of C.C.No.1878/2014 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kayamkulam and all further proceedings arising therefrom. Petitioners are the accused in the aforementioned Crime No.345/2014 of Vallikkunnam Police Station registered for offences alleged under Sec.498A r/w 34 IPC. The 1[st] petitioner is the husband of the 1[st] respondent and petitioners 2 & 3 are the father and mother of the 1[st] petitioner. After the marriage of the 1[st] petitioner and 1[st] respondent, the aforementioned Crime was registered on the basis of the complaint filed by the 1[st] respondent before the City Police Commissioner, Kollam and crime was registered as Crime No.581/2014 of Paravur Police Station. Later, the said crime was transferred to the Vallikkunnam Police Station and ::2:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** after investigation the police submitted the impugned Annexure-A2 Final Report/Charge Sheet in Crime No.345/2014 which has led to the institution of C.C.No.1878/2014 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kayamkulam. It is submitted that the petitioners are innocent and that the crime was registered due to certain misunderstanding between the petitioners and the 1[st] respondent-defacto complainant and that the disputes between the parties have been now amicably settled and that the 1[st] respondent-defacto complainant has no grievance and has no objection in the termination of the impugned criminal proceedings and she has no subsisting grievance against the petitioners and all further proceedings in the impugned criminal proceedings may be quashed. That the 1[st] petitioner and 1[st] respondent are living separately and filed a joint petition before the Family Court, Mavelikkara seeking divorce. The 1[st] respondent-defacto complainant filed an affidavit dated 29.10.2014 produced as Annexure-A3 stating the above aspects wherein it is stated that due to the intervention of the mediators the matter has been settled amicably between the parties and filed a petition for divorce before the Family Court, Mavelikkara and that the entire ::3:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** disputes between the parties have been amicably settled and in view of the settlement, she does not want to prosecute the petitioners and she has no objection in the termination of the impugned criminal proceedings now pending as C.C.No.1878/2014 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kayamkulam in respect of the impugned Crime No.345/2013 of Vallikkunnam Police Station. It is in the background of these facts and circumstances, this Crl.M.C has been instituted to quash the impugned proceedings. 2. The Crl.M.C. has been admitted and Sri.Vijayakumaran Pillai has taken notice for the 1[st] respondent and the learned Public Prosecutor has taken notice for the 2[nd] respondent-State of Kerala. 3. Heard Sri.V.Madhusudhanan, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri.Vijayakumaran Pillai, learned counsel for the 1[st] respondent and the learned Public Prosecutor appearing for the 2[nd] respondent-State of Kerala. 4. The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that during the pendency of the aforementioned criminal proceedings, the matter has been settled amicably between the parties, and that the continuation of the proceedings in the above ::4:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** case/crime will cause miscarriage of justice to both parties as the real disputants to the controversy have arrived at an amicable settlement and any further continuation of the criminal proceedings will amount to sheer wastage of time and money and would unnecessarily strain the judicial, administrative and financial resources of the State. 5. Sri.Vijayakumaran Pillai, learned counsel appearing for the 1[st] respondent has submitted, on the basis of the specific instructions furnished by the 1[st] respondent, that the 1[st] respondent has amicably settled the disputes with the petitioners as stated above and that she has no objection in the quashment of the impugned criminal proceedings and that the complainant/victim/injured does not intend to proceed any further against the petitioners as she has no grievance against them and that she will not raise any dispute/complaint in future if the prayer for quashing the impugned criminal proceedings is allowed. 6. The learned Public Prosecutor also was heard, who also has not raised any serious objections and submitted that the court may consider the prayer in this case in the light of the law well settled by the Apex Court in that regard. ::5:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** 7. After having carefully considered the submissions of the parties and after having perused the pleadings as well as the documents and materials placed in this matter, it can be seen that the offences alleged are more or less personal in nature and not much element of public interest is involved. The crucial aspect of the matter is that though such offences are involved, the real disputants to the controversy, which has led to the impugned criminal proceedings, have actually arrived at an amicable settlement of the matter. From the submissions made by the learned counsel for the 1[st] respondent, it is clear to the Court that the injured/victim/defacto complainant has no further grievance against the petitioners/accused in the light of the settlement arrived at by them. In this connection, it is relevant to note the decision of the Apex Court in the case between _**Gian Singh** v._ _**State of Punjab**_ reported in 2013 (1) SCC (Cri) 160, para 61 = (2012) 10 SCC 303 = 2012(4) KLT 108(SC), wherein the Supreme Court has held as follows in para 61 thereof [ See SCC (Cri)]: _“61. The position that emerges from the above discussion can be summarised thus: the power of the High Court in quashing a criminal proceeding or FIR or complaint in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction is distinct and different from the power given to a criminal court for compounding the offences under S.320 of the Code. Inherent power is of wide plenitude with no statutory limitation but it has to be_ ::6:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** _exercised in accord with the guideline engrafted in such power viz;(i) to secure the ends of justice or (ii) to prevent abuse of the process of any Court. In what cases power to quash the criminal proceeding or complaint or F.I.R. may be exercised where the offender and victim have settled their dispute would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and no category can be prescribed.._ ## It is further held as follows:- “...... _... 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 conviction is remote and bleak and continuation of criminal case would put accused to great oppression and prejudice and extreme injustice would be caused to him by not quashing the criminal case despite full and complete settlement and compromise with the victim........”_ Further, in the case _**Jitendra Raghuvanshi and Others** v._ _**Babita Raghuvanshi and another**_ reported in (2013) 4 SCC 58 [see 2013 (1) KLD 817 (SC)], the Apex Court has held as follows:- “8 _. It is not in dispute that matrimonial disputes have been on considerable increase in recent times resulting in filing of complaints under Sections 498A and 406 of I.P.C. not only against the husband but also against the relatives of the husband. The question is when such matters are resolved either by the wife agreeing to rejoin the matrimonial home or by mutual settlement of other pending disputes for which both the sides approached the_ ::7:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** _High Court and jointly prayed for quashing of the criminal proceedings or the FIR or complaint by the wife under Sections 498A and 406 of I.P.C., whether the prayer can be declined on the sole ground that since the offences are noncompoundable under Section 320 of the Code, it would be impermissible for the court to quash the criminal proceedings or FIR or complaint._ 9 _. It is not in dispute that in the case on hand subsequent to the filing of the criminal complaint under Sections 498A and 406 of IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, with the help and intervention of family members, friends and well-wishers, the parties concerned have amicably settled their differences and executed a compromise/ settlement. Pursuant thereto, the appellants filed the said compromise before the Trial Court with a request to place the same on record and to drop the criminal proceedings against the appellants herein. It is also not in dispute that in additional to the mutual settlement arrived at by the parties, respondent/-wife has also filed an affidavit stating that she did not wish to pursue the criminal proceedings against the appellants and fully supported the contents of the settlement deed. It is the grievance of the appellants that no only the Trial Court rejected such prayer of the parties but also the High Court failed toe exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code only on the ground that the criminal proceedings relate to the offences punishable under Sections 498A and 406 of IPC which are non-compoundable in nature._ _15. In our view, it is the duty of the Courts to encourage genuine settlements of matrimonial disputes, particularly, when the same are on considerable increase. Even if the offences are non-compoundable, if they relate to matrimonial disputes and the Court is satisfied that the parties have settled the same amicably and without any pressure, we hold that for the purpose of securing ends of justice, Section 320 of the Code would not be a bar to the exercise of power of quashing of FIR, complaint or the subsequent criminal proceedings._ _16. There has been an outburst of matrimonial disputes in recent times. The institution of marriage occupies an important place and it has an important role to play in the society. Therefore, every effort should be made in the interest of the individuals in order to enable them to settle down in life and live peacefully. If the parties ponder over their defaults and terminate their disputes amicably by mutual agreement instead of fighting it out in a Court of law, in order to do complete justice in the matrimonial_ ::8:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** _matters, the Courts should be less hesitant in exercising its extraordinary jurisdiction. It is trite to state that the power under Section 482 should be exercised sparingly and with circumspection only when the Court is convinced, on the basis of material on record, that allowing the proceedings to continue would be an abuse of the process of the Court or that the ends of justice require that the proceedings ought to be quashed.”_ 8. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, it is seen further that the impugned criminal proceedings have arisen consequent to the matrimonial disputes between the disputants and the disputes have been settled amicably between the parties. Accordingly, this Court is inclined to hold that in the light of the facts and circumstances involved in the present case and particularly in view of the settlement arrived at between the parties, the principles laid down in the aforementioned decisions of the Apex Court will be squarely applicable in the present case. Moreover, since the real disputants to the controversy have amicably settled the disputes, which led to these impugned criminal proceedings, it is also the duty of the court to promote such settlement, instead of compelling the parties to go on with the dispute. It is also pertinent to note that since the matter is settled out of court, in the event of proceeding with the trial, there may not be any fruitful prosecution and the chances of conviction of the accused is rather negligible and therefore, the ::9:: ## **Crl.M.C.No.6197 Of 2014** net result of continuance of criminal proceedings would be sheer waste of judicial time rather meaningless and therefore would amount to abuse of the process of court proceedings in the larger sense. Hence following decisions of the Apex Court cited supra, this Court is inclined to hold that the Crl.M.C. can be allowed by granting the prayers sought for. In the result, the Crl.M.C is allowed and it is ordered in the interest of justice that the impugned Annexure-A2 Final Report/Charge Sheet filed in impugned Annexure-A1 FIR in Crime No.345/2014 of Vallikkunnam Police Station which has led to the pendency of C.C.No.1878/2014 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kayamkulam and all further proceedings arising therefrom as against all the accused stand quashed. Petitioners shall forward certified copies of this order to the Station House Officer concerned as well as to the jurisdictional Magistrate concerned. **ALEXANDER THOMAS, Judge.** bkn/-