Kerala High Court Enunciates Broad Principles For Compounding Of Sexual Offences Against Women & Children Upon Compromise With Accused

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday laid down certain broad principles to be borne in mind while considering pleas to quash criminal proceedings involving non-compoundable sexual offences against women and children, upon a compromise between the accused and the victim, invoking Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Single Judge Bench of Justice Kauser Edappagath while hearing a batch of quashing petitions said no straitjacket formula can be formulated as each case is unique, and would have to be decided based on its peculiar facts.The Court went on to add, "...where the High Court has such facts on record which clearly exhibit that the criminal prosecution involving non-compoundable sexual offences against women and children will result in greater injustice to the victim, its closure would only promote her well-being, and the possibility of a conviction is remote, it can indubitably evaluate the consequential effects of the offence beyond the body of an individual and thereafter adopt a pragmatic approach and very well decide to quash such proceeding upon a compromise between the accused and the victim after taking into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case including the nature, magnitude, consequences of the crime and genuineness of the compromise. Needless to emphasize, the sexual offences which are grave, heinous, and gruesome in nature shall never be the subject matter of compromise". The petitioners in the batch of cases before the Court were all involved in sexual offences either under the IPC or under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act), or both, and were seeking to quash the proceedings on the ground of settlement with the victim. They argued that under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the High Court is vested with the jurisdiction to annul an FIR or criminal proceeding in appropriate cases where the offender and the victim have settled their dispute notwithstanding the fact that the offence involved is a sexual offence against women or children. It was submitted that when the matter has been amicably settled, the victim would not support the prosecution case, and the continuation of proceedings, in such circumstances, would be a waste of judicial time and public money. On the other hand, the Public Prosecutors argued that rape or sexual offence against women or children is a heinous crime against society, and any compromise between the victim and the offender could not ordinarily provide for any basis for quashing the criminal proceedings. It was further submitted that compromises would legalize rape and offer an escape route to the perpetrators.Broad Principles To Be Borne In Mind While Exercising Power Under Section 482 Cr.P.C. The Court noted that although no specific provision has been incorporated in the Cr.P.C. for compounding any offence other than those mentioned in Section 320 Cr.P.C., there may still be cases where the victim would be prepared to condone the offensive conduct of the accused, even though the offence charged is non-compoundable. In such cases, the Court observed that recourse could be had to the inherent powers of the Court exercisable under Section 482 Cr.P.C., even if the offence is non-compoundable under Section 320Cr.P.C. The Court also went through the various judgments of the Apex Court and several High Courts in this regard, and the different stance adopted in each of those.Based on the same, the Court observed that although the High Court should not normally interfere with the investigation/ criminal proceedings involving sexual offences against women and children only on the ground of settlement, however, it is not completely foreclosed in exercising its extraordinary power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. or Article 226 to quash such proceedings in ‘extraordinary circumstances’ to do complete justice to the parties. The Court opined that in such cases, a holistic approach ought to be adopted considering the issue from different perspectives, in order to identify the cases fit for compromise, keeping in mind: (i) the nature and effect of the offence on the consciousness of the society; (ii) the Seriousness of the injury, if any; (iii) Voluntary nature of compromise between the accused and the victim; and (iv) Conduct of the accused persons, prior to and after the occurrence of the purported offence or other relevant considerations. The Court thus proceeded to enunciate certain broad principles that Courts ought to remember while exercising its power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. in this regard. A. Sexual Assault on False Promise of Marriage The Court observed that in such cases, the crucial issue to be decided would be as to whether the allegation indicates that the accused had given a promise to the victim to marry, which at the inception was false and based on which the victim was induced into a sexual relationship. The Court noted that without such an allegation or proof, the offence of rape will not be...

Kerala High Court Enunciates Broad Principles For Compounding Of Sexual Offences Against Women & Children Upon Compromise With Accused

Navya Benny

Tags