Danda @ Sudhansu Sekhar Behera Vs State of Odisha

Digitally Signed Signed by: SIPUN BEHERA Designation: Senior StenographerReason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 09-Apr-2026 18:58:22

¶19

3. By filing the present CRLMC, the Petitioner has prayed for quashing the entire criminal proceedings initiated against him vide Binjharpur P.S. Case No.201 of 2016, corresponding to Special G.R. Case No.86 of 2016, pending before the learned Addl. Sessions Judgecum-Special Judge (POCSO), Jajpur.

¶20

4. Learned counsel for the respective parties submit that, in the interregnum, the dispute between the parties has been amicably settled. In support thereof, a joint affidavit dated 24.02.2026 is filed before this Court today, which is taken on record.

¶21

Page 1 of 9

¶22

5. The relevant portion of the joint affidavit filed by both the parties is extracted hereunder:

¶23

“xxx xxx xxx

¶24

“2. That, the Petitioner and the Opposite Party, have married each other since 2017 as it was a love cum arranged marriage with the intervention and consent of friends, family and well-wishers and are living happily ever since correspondingly.

¶25

3. That the petitioner and the opposite party have filed this joint compromise affidavit as they wish to request the Hon’ble High Court to quash the present FIR and subsequent entire criminal proceedings arising from the same, as they have compromised the matter and resolved the dispute in their free will and sweet mind and good faith, without any coercion or undue influence.

¶26

4. That, this affidavit of compromise has been entered into voluntarily and both parties have mutually decided to settle the matter for the sake of peace and harmony and do not want to proceed any further with this case as the continuation of criminal proceedings would only cause unnecessary strain on the parties involved, particularly the victim, and the ends of justice would be better served by quashing the case.

¶27

5. That, the Petitioners are aware of the legal implications and consequences of this settlement, and they have voluntarily chosen to approach this Hon’ble Court to seek the quashing of the proceedings by filing this joint affidavit.

¶28

6. That, the Petitioner and the Opposite Parties humbly submit that the compromise is in the best interest of the victim, and no further criminal action is warranted. The parties understand that the quashing of the case would not in any way condone the alleged offense but is based on the parties’ desire to restore peace and avoid further legal proceedings and thus they are filling this affidavit.”

¶29

Page 2 of 9

¶30

6. This Court has considered the joint affidavit filed by both parties and is conscious of the settled legal position that the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is distinct from the power of compounding under Section 320 Cr.P.C., and may be invoked to secure the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the process of Court. At the same time, such power is not to be exercised mechanically merely because the parties have arrived at a settlement; the Court is required to examine the nature and gravity of the allegations, the real genesis of the dispute, the stage of the proceeding, and whether, in view of the stand now taken by the victim, the possibility of conviction has become remote and continuation of the prosecution would amount to futility or oppression.

¶31

7. In the present case, Opposite Party No.3/Victim has joined the Petitioner in filing a sworn affidavit and has categorically stated that the matter has been compromised between themselves and they are living happily even since correspondingly and she does not wish to proceed further with the criminal case. Thus, the Court is not proceeding on the basis of a bare compromise alone, but on the subsequent stand of the complainant herself, which substantially erodes the factual substratum of the prosecution. Having regard to the materials on record, the stage of the case, and the unequivocal position taken by the complainant, this Court is satisfied that the possibility of a successful conviction is remote and bleak and that

¶32

Page 3 of 9

¶33

continuation of the impugned proceeding would serve no useful purpose but would instead amount to abuse of the process of law.

¶34

8. In light of the aforesaid, and applying the same to the facts of the present case, this Court is of the considered view that the continuance of the impugned criminal proceeding would amount to an abuse of the process of Court and would not subserve the ends of justice.

¶35

9. In fact, in the case of Shiji @ Pappu v. Radhika¹ , the Supreme Court has held that even where an offence is non-compoundable, quashing may still be justified if there is no realistic chance of conviction and continuance is an empty formality. The Court held as follows:

¶36

“It is manifest that simply because an offence is not compoundable under Section 320 IPC is by itself no reason for the High Court to refuse exercise of its power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. That power can in our opinion be exercised in cases where there is no chance of recording a conviction against the accused and the entire exercise of a trial is destined to be an exercise in futility. There is a subtle distinction between compounding of offences by the parties before the trial Court or in appeal on one hand and the exercise of power by the High Court to quash the prosecution under Section 482 Cr.P.C. on the other.”

¶37

10. Similarly, in Narinder Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Anr.² where the Supreme Court held as follows:-

¶38

" 31. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we sum up and lay down the following principles by which the High

¶39

1 AIR 2012 SUPREME COURT 499

¶40

2 Decided in Criminal Appeal No.686 of 2014 on 27.03.2014

¶41

Page 4 of 9

¶42

Court would be guided in giving adequate treatment to the settlement between the parties and exercising its power under Section 482 of the Code while accepting the settlement and quashing the proceedings or refusing to accept the settlement with direction to continue with the criminal proceedings:

¶43

(i) Power conferred under Section 482 of the Code is to be distinguished from the power which lies in the Court to compound the offences under Section 320 of the Code. No doubt, under Section 482 of the Code, the High Court has inherent power to quash the criminal proceedings even in those cases which are not compoundable, where the parties have settled the matter between themselves. However, this power is to be exercised sparingly and with caution.

¶44

(ii) When the parties have reached the settlement and on that basis petition for quashing the criminal proceedings is filed, the guiding factor in such cases would be to secure:

¶45

(i) ends of justice, or

¶46

(ii) to prevent abuse of the process of any Court .

¶47

While exercising the power the High Court is to form an opinion on either of the aforesaid two objectives .

¶48

(iii) Such a power is not be exercised in those prosecutions which involve heinous and serious offences of mental depravity or offences like murder, rape, dacoity, etc. Such offences are not private in nature and have a serious impact on society. Similarly, for offences alleged to have been committed under special statute like the Prevention of Corruption Act or the offences committed by Public Servants while working in that

¶49

Page 5 of 9

¶50

capacity are not to be quashed merely on the basis of compromise between the victim and the offender.

¶51

(iv) On the other, those criminal cases having overwhelmingly and pre-dominantly civil character, particularly those arising out of commercial transactions or arising out of matrimonial relationship or family disputes should be quashed when the parties have resolved their entire disputes among themselves.

¶52

(v) While exercising its powers, the High Court is to examine as to whether the possibility of conviction is remote and bleak and continuation of criminal cases would put the accused to great oppression and prejudice and extreme injustice would be caused to him by not quashing the criminal cases. (vi) Offences under Section 307 IPC would fall in the category of heinous and serious offences and therefore is to be generally treated as crime against the society and not against the individual alone. However, the High Court would not rest its decision merely because there is a mention of Section 307 IPC in the FIR or the charge is framed under this provision. It would be open to the High Court to examine as to whether incorporation of Section 307 IPC is there for the sake of it or the prosecution has collected sufficient evidence, which if proved, would lead to proving the charge under Section 307 IPC. For this purpose, it would be open to the High Court to go by the nature of injury sustained, whether such injury is inflicted on the vital/delegate parts of the body, nature of weapons used etc. Medical report in respect of injuries suffered by the victim can generally be the guiding factor. On the basis of this prima facie analysis, the High Court can examine as to whether

¶53

Page 6 of 9

¶54

there is a strong possibility of conviction or the chances of conviction are remote and bleak. In the former case it can refuse to accept the settlement and quash the criminal proceedings whereas in the later case it would be permissible for the High Court to accept the plea compounding the offence based on complete settlement between the parties. At this stage, the Court can also be swayed by the fact that the settlement between the parties is going to result in harmony between them which may improve their future relationship.

¶55

(vii) While deciding whether to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Code or not, timings of settlement play a crucial role. Those cases where the settlement is arrived at immediately after the alleged commission of offence and the matter is still under investigation, the High Court may be liberal in accepting the settlement to quash the criminal proceedings/investigation. It is because of the reason that at this stage the investigation is still on and even the charge sheet has not been filed. Likewise, those cases where the charge is framed but the evidence is yet to start or the evidence is still at infancy stage, the High Court can show benevolence in exercising its powers favourably, but after prima facie assessment of the circumstances/material mentioned above. On the other hand, where the prosecution evidence is almost complete or after the conclusion of the evidence the matter is at the stage of argument, normally the High Court should refrain from exercising its power under Section 482 of the Code, as in such cases the trial court would be in a position to decide the case finally on merits and to come a conclusion as to whether the offence under Section 307 IPC is committed or not.

¶56

Page 7 of 9

¶57

Similarly, in those cases where the conviction is already recorded by the trial court and the matter is at the appellate stage before the High Court, mere compromise between the parties would not be a ground to accept the same resulting in acquittal of the offender who has already been convicted by the trial court. Here charge is proved under Section 307 IPC and conviction is already recorded of a heinous crime and, therefore, there is no question of sparing a convict found guilty of such a crime .”

¶58

11. Tested against the aforesaid principles and the facts of the present case, this Court finds that allowing the prosecution to continue would be futile and would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

¶59

12. In view of the foregoing discussions, this Court is the considered opinion that these matters deserve to be given a quietus at this stage itself since the parties concerned have settled the matter amongst themselves and are no longer inclined to proceed further in the case, thereby diminishing the chances of its success.

¶60

13. Accordingly, the CRLMC is allowed. As a result, the F.I.R. vide Binjharpur P.S. Case No.201 of 2016, corresponding to Special G.R. Case No.86 of 2016 pending before the learned Addl. Sessions Judgecum-Special Judge (POCSO), Jajpur and all the consequential proceedings are hereby quashed.

¶61

14. Pending application (s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

¶62

15. Interim order, if any, passed earlier shall stand vacated.

¶63

16. Issue urgent certified copy of this order as per Rules.

¶64

Page 8 of 9

¶65

17. A copy of this order be communicated to the learned trial Court for information.

¶66

( Dr. Sanjeeb K Panigrahi)