This is an application filed by the petitioners who are accused in Crime No. 1302/2012 of Sakthikulangara Police Station of Kollam District to quash the proceedings on the basis of settlement under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
2. It is alleged in the petition that petitioners are accused Nos. 1 to 3 in Crime No. 1302/2012 of Sakthikulangara Police Station which was registered on the basis of a private complaint filed by the de-facto complainant-second respondent herein before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court - II, Kollam against the petitioners alleging offences under Section 323, 498 A read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code which was forwarded to the Police for investigation by the learned Magistrate under Section 156 (3) of Code of Criminal Procedure. Now, the matter has been settled between the parties. First respondent who is the husband of the de-facto complainant -
second respondent and the second respondent have decided to separate and on the basis of the settlement, the parties have decided to withdraw all the proceedings pending between them including this prosecution. Since it is in the crime stage and the offence is noncompoundable in nature, neither the police nor the Court will drop the proceedings at this stage. In view of the settlement, no purpose will be served by keeping the case on file as well. So the petitioners have no other remedy except to approach this Court seeking the following relief.
“The Hon'ble Court may be pleased to quash the proceedings in Crime No. 1302/2012 in the file of Sakthikulangara Police Station.”
3. The second respondent appeared to the Counsel and submitted that the matter has been settled between the parties due to the intervention of mediators and family members and she does not want to prosecute the petitioners any longer. She had filed an affidavit stating these facts as well.
4. The counsel for the petitioners also submitted in view of the settlement no purpose will be served by proceeding with the case and he prayed for allowing the application.
5. The application was opposed by the Public Prosecutor on the ground it is in the investigating stage.
6. Heard both sides.
7. It is an admitted fact first petitioner is the husband of the de-facto complainant-second respondent and others are the in-laws of the second respondent. Due to some difference of opinion, they started residing separately. The second respondent filed a private complaint before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court - II, Kollam against the petitioners alleging offences under Section 323, 498 A read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code which was forwarded to the Police for investigation by the learned Magistrate under Section 156 (3) of Code of Criminal Procedure and on that basis Annexure-I, First Information Report was registered as Crime Number 1302/2012 of Sakthikulangara Police Station. According to the petitioners and the Prosecutor, the investigation is in progress. In the meantime, parties have settled the dispute due to the intervention of mediators and family members and they have decided to separate and also decided to withdraw all the litigations including the prosecution launched by the second respondent against the petitioners. It was specifically mentioned so in Annexure-II affidavit filed by the de-facto complainant. Considering the fact that it is a family dispute and the matter has been settled between the parties due to the intervention of mediators and well-wishers, there is no possibility of neither the de-facto complainant nor the witnesses are likely to co-operate with the investigation or even if final report is filed on the basis of the evidence collected by the investigating agency, they will not support the case of the prosecution and conviction in such cases is remote.
8. In the decision reported in Gian Singh V. State of Punjab [2012(4) KLT 108 (SC)] , the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held in the cases where family issues are involved and if the matter has been settled between the parties due to the intervention of mediators and they wanted to withdraw the prosecution, then Court has to give effort to that settlement and invoking the power under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, it has to quash the proceedings in order to promote the family settlement and harmony in the family of both parties.
9. In view of dictum laid down in the above decision and also considering the fact that it is a family dispute which resulted in the registration of a crime and on account of the settlement, the possibility of conviction is remote, this court feels that it is a fit case where the power under section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure has to be invoked to quash the proceedings in order to promote the settlement arrived at between the parties and promote the harmony that has been resulted on account of the settlement in both the families and pendency of this crime should not be a hurdle for the same.
In the result, the petition is allowed and further proceedings in crime No. 1302/2012 of Sakthikulangara Police Station against the petitioners is quashed.
Office is directed to communicate this order to Judicial First Class Magistrate Court - II, Kollam so as to inform the same to the concerned Police Station for necessary further action in the matter.
sd/-
(K. RAMAKRISHNAN, JUDGE) JV