High Court of KeralaSingle JudgeQuashed the FIR; Crl.M.C. allowed; case dispose...

Raisal C.H. v. State of Kerala and Nabeeesa

Case / Petition Number:Crl.M.C.No. 4772 of 2014

Case Details & Bench

Court
High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges
  • V.K.MOHANAN
Judgment Date
2014-08-21
Court Decision / Holding
The Criminal Misc. Case is allowed; Annexure A FIR in Crime No.355/2014 of Chakkarakkallu Police Station pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thalassery, is quashed.
Final Disposition
Quashed the FIR; Crl.M.C. allowed; case disposed in terms of quashing the FIR.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

  • Raisal C.H.

Respondents

  • State of Kerala
  • Nabeesa

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

  • • Sri. Suman Chakravarthy

Counsels for Respondents

  • • Public Prosecutor Sri. Danesh Mathew Manjooran
  • • Sri. K.B. Pradeep

Case Synopsis & Summary

Raisal C.H., the sole accused in Crime No. 355/2014 of Chakkarakkallu Police Station, moves under section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash the FIR, which alleges offences under sections 447, 341, 323 and 354 IPC, on the ground that the matter has been settled amicably out of court. Nabeeesa, the de facto complainant, states that she has no grievance and does not intend to proceed against the petitioner; the State, through the Public Prosecutor, conforme with the stance and does not oppose the quashing in light of the settlement. The judge notes that the offences are personal in nature and the case involves no public interest; the parties resolved their dispute, making continued litigation futile and potentially oppressive. The court relies on the Supreme Court’s Gian Singh v. State of Punjab doctrine, explaining that while inherent powers to quash are wide and unfettered, they must be exercised to secure ends of justice and to prevent abuse of process, with the caveat that quashing depends on facts and circumstances and is more likely in private or civilly flavoured disputes where compromise has occurred. Considering these facts, the court finds that quashing the FIR would promote settlement and avoid fruitless prosecution, and accordingly allows the Criminal Miscellaneous Case, quashing the FIR.

Provisions of Law Cited

Section 482 of Cr.P.C.Sections 447, 341, 323 and 354 of IPC

Legal Doctrines & Maxims

  • Ends of justice
  • Prevent abuse of the process of any Court
  • Inherent powers of High Court are wide plenitude with no statutory limitation
  • Inherent power to quash may be exercised in cases where offender and victim have settled disputes, especially where offences have a civil or private flavour
  • Quashing focuses on ends of justice and potential prejudice to the accused when there is full and complete settlement (Gian Singh v. State of Punjab)

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioner contends that the ongoing criminal proceedings are a misuse of process since the matter has been amicably settled between the accused and the de facto complainant. The continuation of proceedings would be an abuse of process and would waste judicial time, especially since the offences are personal in nature and involve no broader public interest. The petition relies on settled out-of-court terms and requests quashing of the FIR.

Contentions of Respondents

The de facto complainant (Nabeesa) states she has no grievance and does not intend to pursue the matter; no separate objection from the State is raised given the settlement. The respondents submit that quashing should be permitted in light of the settlement and the private nature of the offences involved.

Cited Precedents (1)

Case NameCitationTreatmentExplanation
Gian Singh v. State of Punjab2012(4) KLT 108 (SC)PositiveCited to support the principle that the High Court may quash criminal proceedings in cases where the offender and victim have settled their dispute; inherent power is wide but must align with ends of justice and avoidance of abuse of process.

Diagnostic Tool

Beta

Does this judgment govern your specific facts?

Don't risk relying on a distinguishable precedent. Enter your facts or proposition below. We will test it against Raisal C.H. v. State of Kerala and Nabeeesa and instantly map out authorities that support, challenge, or govern your position.

Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

## **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** ## **PRESENT:** ## **THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V.K.MOHANAN** **THURSDAY, THE 21ST DAY OF AUGUST 2014/30TH SRAVANA, 1936** ## **Crl.MC.No. 4772 of 2014 ()** **--------------------------CRIME NO. 355/2014 OF CHAKKARAKKALLU POLICE STATION ,KANNUR DISTRICT** ## **PETITIONER/ACCUSED:** **---------------------------------------** **RAISAL C.H., S/O.SAINABA,AGED 35 YEARS, SHABANA MANZIL, IRIVERI, KANNUR DIST.** ## **BY ADV. SRI.SUMAN CHAKRAVARTHY** ## **RESPONDENT(S)/STATE AND CW2:** **--------------------------------------------------------** ## **1. STATE OF KERALA,** **REP. BY ITS PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA.** ## **2. NABEESA,** **W/O.ABDUL KHADER, CHILLA POYIL, IRIVERI AMSOM, KANYANNUR DESOM, KANNUR, KERALA. PIN-670 001** **R1 BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.DHANESH MATHEW MANJOORAN R2 BY ADV. SRI.K.B.PRADEEP** **THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 21-08-2014, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:** **sts** **Crl.MC.No. 4772 of 2014 ()** **---------------------------------------** ## **APPENDIX** **PETITIONER(S)' ANNEXURES: -------------------------------------------** **ANNEX -A: A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME NO.355/2014 OF CHAKKARAKKALLU POLICE STATION. ANNEX -B: ORIGINAL OF THE ATTESTED AFFIDAVIT** **RESPONDENT(S)' ANNEXURES: NIL** **/TRUE COPY/** **P.S.TO.JUDGE** **sts** ## **V.K.MOHANAN, J.** ## **----------------------------------------** ## **Crl.M.C.No. 4772 of 2014** ## **----------------------------------------** Dated this the 21[st] day of August, 2014 ## **O R D E R** The above petition is filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (for short 'Cr.P.C.') at the instance of the petitioner, who is the sole accused in Crime No.355/2014 of Chakkarakkallu Police Station, for the offences punishable under Sections 447,341,323 and 354 of I.P.C. with a prayer to quash Annexure A FIR in Crime No.355/2014 of Chakkarakkallu Police Station pending on the file of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thalassery as the matter is settled out of court. 2. The allegation in the above case is that the accused and his mother Sainaba, who are the close relatives of the de facto complainant, on 19.4.2014 at about 11 a.m. trespassed into her compound and hit her in her chest and pushed her down and thereby, the accused has committed the aforesaid offences and now, the case of the petitioner is that the matter is settled out of court. Crl.M.C.No.4772 of 2014 :-2-: 3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the second respondent. I have also heard the learned Public Prosecutor. 4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that during the pendency of the above crime, the matter is settled amicably between the parties to the dispute which is the subject matter of the above crime. Therefore, the continuation of the proceedings in the above crime is abuse of process of law and proceedings. 5. The learned counsel for the second respondent, who on the basis of specific instruction received from the respondent, submitted that the above respondent, who is the de facto complainant/victim/injured does not intend to proceed any further against the petitioner and she/he has no grievance against her/him. 6. I have carefully considered the above submissions of the respective counsel. I have verified the documents and materials produced along with the above petition. In the given facts and circumstances of the case and especially in the light of the settlement arrived between the parties to the dispute, the learned Public Prosecutor has also no objection in allowing the above petition. Crl.M.C.No.4772 of 2014 :-3-: 7. Having regard to the facts and circumstances involved in the case, it can be seen that the offences involved in the above case are only Sections 447,341,323 and 354 of I.P.C.which are more or less personal in nature and no public interest is involved. It is pertinent to note that though such offences are involved, the real parties to the dispute approached this Court after having amicably settled the matter. From the submission made by the counsel for the second respondent, it appears to me that the de facto complainant has no further grievance against the petitioner/accused in the light of the settlement arrived by them. In this juncture, it is relevant to note the decision of the Honourable Apex Court reported in **Gian Singh** v. **State of Punjab** [2012(4) KLT 108 ## (SC)], in which case, the Supreme Court has held as follows:- _“57. 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 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.._ Crl.M.C.No.4772 of 2014 :-4-: ## It is further held as follows:- “...... _... But the criminal cases having overwhelmingly and predominatingly civil flavour stand on different footing for the purposes of quashing, particularly the offences arising from commercial, financial,mercandile, 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........”_ According to me, in the light of the facts and circumstances involved in the present case and particularly in view of the settlement arrived in the present case, the dictum laid in the above decision is applicable in the present case. Thus, I am of the view that as the parties to the dispute settled the issues amicably, it is the duty of this Court to promote and encourage such settlement, instead of compelling the parties to go on with the dispute. It is pertinent to note that since the matter is settled out of court, in the event of proceeding with the trial, there would not have any fruitful prosecution resulting the conviction of the accused, rather the net result would be sheer waste of judicial time and abuse of process of the court and proceedings. Thus, according to me, Crl.M.C.No.4772 of 2014 :-5-: following the decisions cited supra, this Criminal M.C. can be allowed granting the relief as sought for. In the result, this Crl.M.C. is allowed, quashing Annexure A FIR in Crime No.355/2014 of Chakkarakkallu Police Station pending on the file of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thalassery. **V.K.MOHANAN, Judge** MBS/ ## Crl.M.C.No.4772 of 2014 :-6-: